2 arrested on drug charges after SLO County police respond to woman ‘screaming for help’
Two people were arrested on suspicion of several drug charges after Arroyo Grande police were called to help a woman who was allegedly “screaming for help” while being chased.
Officers were dispatched to the 1300 block of Ash Street for a report of a man chasing a woman who was screaming for help, the Arroyo Grande Police Department said in a news release.
The woman, identified as 26-year-old Nipomo resident Janae Rodriguez, called her mother on the reporting party’s phone and mentioned the man was possibly going to Burger King, police said.
Both Rodriguez and the man left the area prior to the officer’s arrival.
Officers later saw a woman matching Rodriguez’s description enter a car’s front passenger seat in the Burger King parking lot on Grande Avenue, police said, and conducted a traffic stop.
Both Rodriguez and the driver, 30-year-old Oceano resident Kameron Merrilhooper, were identified in the vehicle.
Rodriguez was on Own Recognizance release, meaning she was released from jail without having to post bail pending a criminal trial, and Merrilhooper was on post-release community supervision, which functions similarly to felony probation, police said.
Officers searched both Rodriguez and Merrilhooper respective to the search terms of their releases, police said, and found a “large quantity” of suspected fentanyl, methamphetamine and paraphernalia, which included evidence of alleged narcotics sales.
Both were placed under arrest.
Officers then authored a search warrant for Merrilhooper’s residence because of their prior knowledge of Merrilhooper’s involvement in alleged drugs sales and the items seized at the stop, police said. After a San Luis Obispo Superior Court judge granted the warrant, police said, officers found a “large quantity” of methamphetamine and other drug paraphernalia in Merrilhooper’s home.
According to the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office inmate database, Rodriguez is suspected of one count possession of a controlled substance for sale, one count of possession of a controlled substance and one count of possession of paraphernalia — all health and safety code violations. She was in jail custody as of Wednesday afternoon with a $50,000 bail.
Merrilhooper was being held in jail custody on suspicion of the same charges as Rodriguez, and was also suspected of violating his post-release community supervision terms, the database showed. He was being held without bail.
This story was originally published July 31, 2024 at 3:52 PM.
