Heroin Sting Leads to Arrest

An informant's tip caused the arrest of an alleged heroin dealer in Temecula.

Alejandro Alvarez, 20, was arrested on July 29 at his home in the 41000 block of Marwood Circle on suspicion of felony possession of narcotics for sale and misdemeanor drug use, failing to pay a court fine, driving without a license and a vehicle code violation.

He was booked at the Southwest Justice Center in French Valley, posted bail and was released on Aug. 2, according to jail records.

A tip from a secret informant triggered the investigation, according to sheriff's Deputy Wesley Martinelli.

"The (confidential informant) in this matter has one pending case against him (or) her and is hoping for consideration of leniency," Martinelli wrote in an affidavit supporting a search warrant.

The informant told Martinelli the suspect usually walks to an area in the neighborhood around his home carrying several bags of heroin. He makes the sale and walks back home.

Deputies held a sting to see whether the informant's information was true. Two deputies gave the informant $40 to buy heroin and followed in an unmarked car, Martinelli said.

When the deputies arrived at the location of the drug deal on Rycrest Drive and Solana Way, they found three men already standing there. The officials watched the suspect make two separate sales, according to the affidavit.

"(A sergeant) saw (Alvarez) walk toward the three males standing at the above intersection and talk with them for a brief moment, and then watched the three males walk away," Martinelli wrote.

"Then, two more unidentified males showed up on skateboards and began talking to (Alvarez). After a few seconds, the males on skateboards left the area. Based on (the sergeant's) training and experience, he believed (Alvarez) sold the two separate groups of males an unknown amount of narcotics."

Moments later, the informant approached Alvarez and bought .4 grams of heroin, according to the affidavit.

After the sting, the sheriff's department got a call from a neighbor complaining of a constant flow of vehicles near the suspect's house.

One day, the citizen watched a transaction happen.

"On one occasion, the citizen saw a Hispanic male adult matching (Alvarez's) description meet up with an unknown male who was sitting in a parked vehicle on Waynewood Drive and Rycrest Drive," Martinelli wrote. "The citizen watched as the Hispanic male leaned in the driver's side window and handed an unknown object to the driver and walk away."