Detectives seize 2 pounds of fentanyl, assault rifle from Camarillo woman, VCSO says

Detectives have arrested two Camarillo residents after they found more than 2 pounds of fentanyl, an AR-15 assault rifle, a pistol and methamphetamine, according to the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office.

A deputy reported that Alexia Topete was selling drugs in Camarillo, and on Thursday, authorities served a search warrant at an apartment in the 700 block of Mobil Avenue in Camarillo and at a storage unit in the 700 block of Arcturus Avenue in Oxnard, according to a VCSO news release.

At the apartment, detectives found Topete, 32, and 39-year-old Jess Ortiz, both of whom were arrested for being under the influence of a controlled substance, authorities said.

“During a search of Topete’s person, detectives located methamphetamine and fentanyl that she attempted to conceal,” the release added.

At the storage unit, detectives found more than 2 pounds of fentanyl, 144 grams of methamphetamine, an unregistered assault rifle and an “unlawfully transferred handgun,” according to the VCSO.

In addition to a count of being under the influence of a controlled substance, Topete has been charged with four felonies: two counts of possession of a controlled substance for sale, one count of possession of an assault weapon and one count of unlawful transfer of a firearm.

She is being held at the Todd Road Jail in lieu of $250,000 bail, and she is due to appear in Ventura County Superior Court on Monday.

Ortiz only faces the charge of being under the influence of a controlled substance. He was cited and released, and he is due to appear in Ventura County Superior Court on Dec. 15.

In the release, the VCSO stressed the dangers of fentanyl, which is “highly addictive and extremely deadly when used in its illicit forms.”

“According to the United States Drug Enforcement Administration, a potentially lethal dose of fentanyl is 2 milligrams,” meaning what the VCSO seized is “over 455,500 times the lethal dose amount of 2 milligrams,” authorities said.