Crime & Safety
Chase, Lockdown End with 3 Arrests in Napa
Two men and a woman were taken to Napa County jail on suspicion of attempting to sell methamphetamine after a police pursuit and school lockdown east of Napa, according to the sheriff's department.
Three people were arrested Wednesday following a search for two of them that included the lockdown of a Napa elementary school.
Things started jumping around noon on Wednesday when Napa Special Investigation Bureau drug agents foiled an attempted meth deal in the 1000 block of Bell Lane, off Monticello Road, east of Napa, according to a Napa County Sheriff’s Office press release.
Two of the suspects were able to escape in a white GMC pickup. The two men drove toward a NSIB agent’s vehicle, and the agent had to take evasive action to avoid a crash, the press release said.
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From there, the men drove east on Monticello Road, ditching the pickup in a private driveway on the east side of the road, according to the press release, adding, the pair took off on foot.
Napa police officers, sheriff’s deputies and the K-9 unit joined the action, a perimeter was set up and a search for the suspects ensued.
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At that time, authorities notified staff at nearby Vichy Elementary School and advised them to lock down the campus for the safety of the students, the press release stated.
About 12:15 p.m., deputies found the two men in the 2100 block of Monticello Road. They were taken into custody without incident.
The other female suspect was arrested on foot on Bell Lane.
About a half pound of meth was recovered, the press release said.
Maria Guadalupe Martinez Birones, 33, of Napa and Javier Casas Alvarez, 36, of Fairfield, were arrested on suspicion of felony sales of a controlled substance and conspiracy to commit a crime.
Orlando Cervantes, 25, transient, was arrested on felony sales of meth, conspiracy to commit a crime, assault with a deadly weapon (attempting to run down the drug agent’s vehicle with the pickup) and evading a peace officer.
All three were booked into the Napa County jail.
For the latest reports on crime and arrests in the Napa Valley, please see our Police & Fire section, available from the News tab above and at napavalley.patch.com/police-fire.
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