Tip leads officer to parolee, drugs
While out on parole, a suspect with a history of drug charges found himself back in jail after an anonymous call tipped off Morgan Hill Police officers to his location.
Adrian Z. Rodriguez, 36, of Cathedral City was taken to Santa Clara County Jail Sunday on charges of possession of methamphetamine for sale, possession of cocaine for sale, transportation of methamphetamine, transportation of cocaine, violation of parole, giving false information to a police officer and illegally re-entering the United States.
MHPD Cpl. Troy Hoefling said the department received a tip stating that Rodriguez was staying in room 212 at the Comfort Inn on Condit Road, that he was registered under a fake name, either Sam, Samuel or Sergio, and that he was driving a blue truck.
Hoefling said he and new MHPD Officer Jeff Brandon responded to the Comfort Inn, but learned that the guest in that room was a repeat guest and was Caucasian, not Hispanic like Rodriguez.
Unwilling to give up their search, Hoefling and Brandon went next door to the Microtel Inn, where they found a blue truck and ran the plate.
“It came back registered to another subject in Cathedral City,” Hoefling said, “but when we got that name, we checked our system and came up with his name. We found out he had been deported and should not be in the U.S.”
Armed with a picture of Rodriguez, Hoefling and Brandon walked into the Microtel, where they saw Rodriguez at the front desk paying for another night’s stay.
“When we confronted him, he identified himself as Samuel Delgado,” Hoefling said. “He was under the influence of a controlled substance, and very, very nervous. He told me he had the key to his room in his wallet, but we had the key. He took off on foot, and merely the fact that he was a parolee at large and illegally in the U.S. was reason for us to give chase.”
Hoefling caught him at the front door of the motel and used his Taser to bring Rodriguez to the ground. Fire and paramedics were called, said Hoefling, as is the MHPD policy when a Taser has been used. Rodriguez refused medical treatment and was taken to county jail.
When officers searched Rodriguez’s room at the Microtel, they found four quarter-pound bags and two eighth-pound bags of crystal meth and three bags of powdered cocaine.
The meth weighed 566 grams, or one and a quarter pounds; the cocaine weighed 123 grams, or a quarter pound. The street value of the drugs is estimated to be $62,000 for the meth and $40,000 for the cocaine, for a total of $102,000.
Hoefling said UNET was called in to investigate. Rodriguez is in county jail without bail awaiting his charges.
Marilyn Dubil covers education and law enforcement for The Times. Reach her at (408) 779-4106 ext. 202 or at md****@*************es.com.
