Mother, son suspected of methamphetamine sales in Sonoma County

A pound of methamphetamine was hidden in a toy box and guns were within easy reach when detectives searched a north Santa Rosa house during an investigation that started with a traffic stop and led to three arrests, officials said Thursday.

Police arrested Lisa McQuaid, 41, who lives in a rural area southwest of Cotati, her son Anthony Hall, 20, and his girlfriend Monica Lach, 21, both Santa Rosa residents, on suspicion of being involved in a large methamphetamine sales operation, Sgt. Rich Celli said.

All told, detectives late last month seized about 4.5 pounds of methamphetamine from their residences and McQuaid’s vehicle, said Celli, who runs Santa Rosa’s narcotics investigations team.

A pound can sell for roughly $4,000 to $6,000, depending on value fluctuations on the illegal drug market.

Police claim the three had been working together and selling multiple pounds of methamphetamine a week.

“Although significant, we don’t think it will cause any long-term disruption” to methamphetamine sales in Santa Rosa, Celli said of the drug seizures and arrests.

“Methamphetamine is an everyday task for us, much like heroin is. I don’t have enough detectives or time in the day to work all the drug dealers I have in Santa Rosa.”

Lach’s 6-year-old boy lived at her Mark West Springs Road residence where police found guns and drugs, and the child was taken in by relatives after his mother’s arrest, according to police.

A narcotics detective began following McQuaid on May 23 as she drove down Bellevue Avenue near Stony Point Road because she had several misdemeanor warrants for her arrest, Celli said.

The officer enlisted Petaluma police to pull her over in that city, and the officers found 11 ounces of methamphetamine in the vehicle during the stop, Celli said.

That discovery led detectives on the same day to search two residences linked to McQuaid.

Police found evidence of drug sales at her home on Stony Point Road near Roblar Road southwest of Cotati city limits, Celli said.

Officers also searched the Mark West Springs Road residence near Sutter Hospital - where her son Hall lived with Lach and her child. There, they found one pound of meth in a child’s toy box in a play area of the living room, two handguns in a lower dresser drawer as well as another handgun plus about 2.5 pounds of methamphetamine in a closet, Celli said.

They also seized about 500 Xanax tablets, which can sell for between $5 and $7 per pill, he said.

Children’s clothing was “mixed among the items near the methamphetamine that was easily accessible,” Celli said.

Hall and Lach fled the residence before police arrived, he said.

The investigation branched out from there with Santa Rosa police enlisting Sonoma County sheriff’s and Petaluma police detectives to collaborate in an investigation into methamphetamine sales throughout the county, according to Celli. They searched five additional properties throughout the county and continue to work the case.

“To what extent and how long their activities have been going on has yet to be determined,” Celli said.

Police finally located Hall and Lach on Wednesday as they were leaving a party at the boy’s school, the sergeant said. They left in two cars, and two police teams followed them to different locations.

Hall was arrested after dropping the boy off at Lach’s mother’s home on Alden Court in Windsor, Celli said. Lach was arrested in Larkfield.

Hall and Lach remained in custody Thursday on suspicion of possession of methamphetamine for the purposes of sales, possession of prescription medication for the purposes of sales, possession of controlled substances while armed.

Lach was also arrested on suspicion of child endangerment.

McQuaid was booked into Sonoma County Jail on suspicion of possession for sales and transportation of methamphetamine, and she was later released on bail.

You can reach Staff Writer Julie Johnson at 521-5220 or julie.johnson@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter ?@jjpressdem.