Two men are charged with drug trafficking

Published 11:32 am Saturday, July 7, 2007

By Staff
Search turns up cocaine and guns
By CHRISTINA HALE
Staff Writer
Two Washington men were arrested Thursday after narcotics investigators searched a house on Jasper Lane in Washington and recovered cocaine and guns, according to the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office.
Jose Alberto Valdovinos Pimentel, 28, of 121 Walton Lane, Washington, faces five counts of trafficking in cocaine.
Samuel Garcia, 22, also of 121 Walton Lane, Washington, faces two counts of trafficking in cocaine.
At the conclusion of a two-month investigation, 10.6 ounces of cocaine, with an estimated street value of $30,300, were seized from Pimentel and Garcia.
Initially, investigators purchased 166 grams of cocaine from Pimentel. Another 85 grams were purchased from Pimentel and Garcia at 110 Jasper Lane in Washington.
Pimentel and Garcia rented the Jasper Lane house to use as a meeting place to sell drugs, Davenport said.
With the assistance of Ronnie, a drug-detecting dog, investigators recovered 52 grams of cocaine, digital scales, three handguns and a rifle from the house on Jasper Lane.
Narcotics investigators want to locate Pimentel and Garcia’s supplier and stop him or her from selling illegal drugs, Davenport said.
Pimentel was confined in the Beaufort County Detention Center under a $5 million bond. Garcia was confined in the Beaufort County Detention Center under a $1 million bond.