By Lauren McSherry

Joe Hu/Town Crier Sgt. Paul Epley, Los Altos Police Department public information officer, displays a pound of marijuana confiscated during a drug dealer sting operation.

The Los Altos Police Department has had a busy month. Since mid-November the department has made four drug arrests in two separate cases, denting the operation of at least one suspected narcotics ring in the city. Three additional arrests are pending.

The chain of events for the first case began Nov. 16 when officers made a routine traffic stop for a minor traffic violation and uncovered a small quantity of narcotics.

“We went up the food chain,” said Detective Scott Sweezey, assigned to the case with partner Detective Scott McCrossin. “We went from a small amount, to a larger amount, to someone dealing in pounds of narcotics.”

The person stopped for the violation turned informant, giving police enough information to obtain a search warrant in a neighboring jurisdiction, Sweezey said. Using the search warrant, Los Altos police uncovered $4,500 in cash, $2,000 in marijuana and about $800 in suspected cocaine.

They arrested a second individual who gave up the name of his supplier and agreed to work with police to set up a narcotics sale. On Nov. 18, police seized approximately 1.67 pounds of marijuana, enough to fill a backpack, which was purchased from the suspects for more than $5,000, Sgt. Paul Epley said. Two suspects were arrested in the sting, including Justin Bliss, a 24-year-old male from Sunnyvale. Some cocaine was also confiscated in the arrest.

Police said, based on several sources, they believed the dealers arrested in the investigation had been supplying Los Altos High School students as well as those at other area high schools.

“It had a direct impact in Los Altos,” said Epley. “We suspect some of the narcotics were making their way to the high school.”

The arrests were unusual for McCrossin, a Los Altos officer for nine years, and Sweezey, with the department for five years.

“We’ve both worked possession cases,” McCrossin said. “But in terms of drug sales this is the most we’ve seen in a long time.”

The second case involved hours of police surveillance of a Los Altos business. Police declined to disclose its location.

The department received an anonymous tip a year and a half ago that a person working at the site was dealing cocaine out of the business, Sweezey said.

Police arrested two individuals - one, a 40-year-old Mountain View resident, suspected of dealing cocaine, the other, a parolee, was found in possession of a small amount of cocaine. The parolee could face 18-24 years in prison because of his prior record, Epley said.

In addition to the work of Los Altos officers, another key player in two of the arrests was the department’s K-9, Ringo.

Ringo led officers to narcotics hidden in a car and uncovered a cache of cocaine worth $1,500 at the Los Altos business.

The arrests occurred between Nov. 16 and Nov. 25.