High-risk narcotics search yields no drugs for Petaluma officers

A Petaluma man considered potentially dangerous by local officers was arrested Thursday morning after the city’s SWAT team swarmed his home in search of drugs but found none.

Petaluma police used a public address system and made several calls asking residents to vacate the Ramona Lane house for about 15 minutes before Jesus Arango-Lopez, 27, complied with officers’ demands, Petaluma Police Lt. Brian Miller said. A second person, a female relative of Arango-Lopez, also came out of the home.

Officers served a search warrant and entered the house, finding equipment used to ingest drugs but no substantial amounts of narcotics,

Miller described Arango-Lopez as a known Sureño-affiliated gang member with multiple prior contacts with police. Fourteen misdemeanor criminal court cases in his name were listed on the Sonoma County Superior Court website on Friday morning, with convictions ranging from possessing drug paraphernalia to resisting police.

Officers also suspected there may have been guns in the home, Miller said.

“We had quite a few things indicating that we may encounter someone that may be uncooperative,” Miller said of the ?10 a.m. operation.

Arango-Lopez was booked into the Sonoma County Main Jail on suspicion of delaying police officers and was released on bail later that afternoon.

Earlier this month, the Petaluma Police Department pulled Arango-Lopez over after an officer saw him driving a car near Caulfield Lane and Payran Street. The officer, who recognized Arango-Lopez, knew he was on probation for a previous driving without a license and resisting arrest case. Arango-Lopez was still unlicensed during the Aug. 1 stop.

When the officer searched him, Arango-?Lopez was found to be carrying a bag that tested positive for methamphetamine, as well as multiple small bags of what appeared to be cocaine, police said. Text messages found on his phone also indicated he was involved with drug sales, Miller said.

A passenger in the car had a previous arrest for possession of a loaded firearm, though that person was later released by police, a department news release said.

Arango-Lopez was booked in that case on suspicion of several drug violations, including possessing narcotics and controlled substances for sale, possession of drug paraphernalia and transportation of a controlled substance. The Sonoma County District Attorney has not yet filed charges in that case, the county’s court website shows.

You can reach Staff Writer Nashelly Chavez at 707-521-5203 or nashelly.chavez@pressdemocrat.com.