EVERETT — A Brier man is facing a felony charge after suspected drugs, including heroin and crack cocaine, were found hidden in his car.
Jose David Sanchez Ortiz, 26, had the materials packaged for sale and hidden in a secret compartment in the dashboard of his Honda Accord. More was found in the vehicle’s sunroof, deputy prosecutor Lyndi Stone said in Snohomish County Superior Court papers.
Additional drugs were found during a search of his home, along with upwards of $25,000 in cash, she wrote.
Sanchez Ortiz for much of January was the focus of a Drug Enforcement Administration investigation in Snohomish and King counties. He was charged Thursday with one count of possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver.
Agents allegedly documented the defendant making numerous sales of heroin and methamphetamine to a confidential informant, the prosecutor wrote.
He was arrested during a traffic stop in Lynnwood on Jan. 22. A judge already had approved searches of his car and apartment, according to court papers.
“When questioned by officers, Sanchez Ortiz stated that officers arrested him on the wrong day because he doesn’t deal drugs on Sundays,” Stone wrote.
He allegedly claimed that his source is somebody who brings up kilos of drugs from the Phoenix area, court papers said.
In all, 2.6 ounces of crack and nearly an ounce of heroin were recovered after the arrest.
Sanchez Ortiz on Friday was locked up in the county jail in Everett, his bail set at $250,000.
Prosecutors asked for substantial bail in part because Sanchez Ortiz is not a U.S. citizen, and was deported in 2014 for illegal entry into the country.
“The state believes there is a strong likelihood that the defendant will attempt to flee the country if he is not held in custody on sufficient bail,” Stone wrote.
Scott North: 425-339-3431; north@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @snorthnews.
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