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By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – Two individuals were brought before a judge this afternoon in connection with alleged cocaine dealing, following their arrests by drug detectives in the Grand Mound area
Eighteen-year-old Leonardo A. Flores-Martinez is charged with twice selling to a confidential informant.
He lives with his parents in Rochester and told police he was born into the Surreno gang, according to court documents.
When the home of 32-year-old Esteban A. Vasquez III was searched yesterday, law enforcement officers allegedly found in a shirt in his closet a digital scale and approximately 15 grams of cocaine, charging documents state. A loaded Glock was also removed from his closet, according to prosecutors.
The arrests came yesterday after Lewis County’s Joint Narcotics Enforcement Team served a search warrant at Vasquez’s Grand Mound home.
Flores-Martinez was contacted outside, taken into custody and allegedly confessed that was the residence where he got his supply.
Vasquez was not home, but voluntarily returned to the scene, Lewis County Deputy Prosecutor Paul Masiello told a judge this afternoon.
“He was informed what law enforcement discovered and nodded his head in affirmation,” Masiello wrote in court documents.
Vasquez was charged today in Lewis County Superior Court with one count of possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver. Because he has a prior felony conviction, he was also charged with second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm.
Charging documents state detectives found indications of gang affiliation in his bedroom.
Defense attorney Joely O’Rourke told the judge Vasquez grew up in Centralia and has strong community ties. He’s currently working at a Lacey mattress manufacturer and has been there for three years, she said in seeking his release on a $10,000 unsecured bond.
Flores-Martinez was charged with two counts of delivery of a controlled substance – for instances between March 1 and yesterday – and one count of possession of methamphetamine, for what was retrieved from his pocket yesterday.
He’s unemployed and has a recent case from March 22 of possession of a controlled substance as well as driving under the influence, the two lawyers said.
Judge Richard Brosey set his bail at $25,000.
While court documents show both men with Rochester mailing addresses, charging papers state the various offenses all occurred in Lewis County.
Their arraignments were scheduled for next Thursday.