Santa Maria Resident Arrested for Attempting to Smuggle Drugs in Jail
A Santa Maria resident was arrested on Tuesday for attempting to smuggle drugs to a homicide defendant.
Banesa Gutierrez was booked into the Santa Barbara County jail Tuesday for allegedly sending a postcard to her boyfriend laced with methamphetamine. Her boyfriend is Anthony Solis, who is one of the suspects in the Anthony Ibarra murder trial.
Jail Classification Unit, Sheriff’s Gang, and Narcotics Units worked together on this investigation to serve Gutierrez with a search warrant. Detectives discovered controlled substances and drug paraphernalia in Gutierrez’s bedroom, which she shared with her two young girls. Methamphetamine, marijuana and smoking pipes were found mixed in with the children’s coloring books and toys.
Santa Barbara County Child Welfare Services came to remove the children from their home. The kids were then taken to a hospital to determine if they had any narcotic exposure. Both girls were cleared and released to family members.
Gutierrez was booked into jail on charges of possessing methamphetamine, sales or furnishing methamphetamine, conspiracy to commit a felony, child endangerment, attempting to bring narcotics into a custodial facility and possession of methamphetamine paraphernalia. Bail is set at $100,000.
As for Anthony Solis, he was re-booked at the Santa Barbara County jail with additional charges of sales and furnishing methamphetamine, attempting to bring narcotics into a custodial facility and conspiracy to commit a felony; bail was set at $25,000.
