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Officers uncovered hundreds of pounds of illegal narcotics, more than $135,000 in cash and several firearms after conducting raids at three Morgan Hill properties in recent weeks, according to authorities.
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Three suspects were arrested on various charges by the conclusion of the investigation, which began this summer, police said.
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The first arrests came on Aug. 26, when officers from the Santa Clara County Specialized Enforcement Team (SCCSET) served a search warrant at a home on the 300 block of Berkshire Way in Morgan Hill, authorities said. Morgan Hill Police assisted in the search, which stemmed from an investigation into the sale of marijuana and a byproduct known as “butane hash oil.”
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During the search, officers found packaging for butane hash oil, business records showing large deposits from the sale of BHO to dispensaries and loaded syringes with hash oil, police said. Officer also located more than $70,000 worth of cash.
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Based on this evidence, the residents’ assets and bank accounts were frozen, police said. The two suspects—Gary Salvadore, 54, and Edie Salvadore, 58—were arrested without incident.
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From Berkshire Way, MHPD and SCCSET officers went to a warehouse rented by the two Salvadore suspects on the 16000 block of Joleen Way to execute another search warrant, police said. In the warehouse, police located a “large-scale clandestine laboratory” used to make butane hash oil, according to authorities. Officers also found more than 100 pounds of butane hash oil stored in large containers.
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Butane hash oil is a marijuana product that uses butane extraction to isolate and concentrate THC and other intoxicants from the plant. The process is considered highly dangerous and has been known to result in accidental home and commercial building explosions in recent years, according to numerous online news reports.
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During the search at the warehouse, police found information indicating a third property in Morgan Hill—located on the 15000 of Foothill Avenue—was connected to the narcotics operation, police reported.
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Upon arrival at the property to serve a search warrant Sept. 2, officers detained three subjects without incident.
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The search uncovered more butane hash oil—some ready for sale—dozens of pounds of marijuana, firearms and ammunition, according to police.
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Blake Lebeck, 53, was arrested at this property, police said.
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By the time the investigation was complete, officers said they recovered more than 200 pounds of butane hash oil product, more than $135,000 cash and several firearms. The three suspects were booked at Santa Clara County Jail on various charges.
Suspect responsible for 2012 Obama incident
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Lebeck was the subject of regional news reports in 2012, when an effigy of President Barack Obama he erected outside his home went viral. The display, which Lebeck built on the fence outside his home on Foothill Avenue, depicted a “coconut head” with crudely drawn facial features with a cigarette attached to the effigy’s mouth. A noose hung from the display, which also featured a watermelon and a clear piece of glass representing a teleprompter with the scribbled message, “Go back to Kenya you idiot.”
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Many passersby considered the display racist when they saw it in 2012, but Lebeck told the Times the opposite is true and he was merely “trying to get a response.”
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“My friends all support me—liberalism is the cause of racism,” Lebeck told the Times in 2012 during an interview in his front yard.
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Anyone with information about the SCCSET case can call MHPD Det. Fernando Del Moral at (669) 253-4964, or the anonymous tip line at (408) 947-7867.
