Two charged in drug distribution case bound over for trial.
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Two people arrested on drug distribution charges were both bound over for trial Thursday after the preliminary hearing in the case.
District Judge Joe McCarville found there was probable cause to send the cases against 29-year-old John Paul Zapata-Beltran and 27-year-old Amy Ann Fisher to arraignment and trial.
Both charged with possession of methamphetamine, possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia all with intent to distribute within 1,000 feet of a school. Other charges include possession of prescription drugs, no drug tax stamp and a new count of aggravated endangerment of a child. Zapata-Beltran is also charged with criminal possession of a firearm.
This is over a search being served on a home in the Careyville neighborhood as well as a Jaguar where drugs and a Taurus 9 mm handgun have been found. The home is within a thousand feet of a Reno County Head Start.
The case started with the Reno County Drug Unit serving a search of a home. In the master bedroom, they allege that they found green residue wrapped in tin foil and an empty digital scale box. On top of a dryer, officers found two burnt marijuana cigarettes and, inside a bathroom, officers found a small baggie of suspected methamphetamine.
In the trunk of a 2003 Jaguar sitting on a trailer, they allegedly found two backpacks. Inside the orange one, they say they found a small lock box with some prescription drugs, new packaging materials, $10,000 in cash and a Taurus 9mm handgun with a loaded magazine and two holsters. In the front pocket of the backpack were two digital scales. In the other backpack, they allegedly found more drugs, including 14.5 grams of methamphetamine and several bags of suspected marijuana weighing about 340 grams. There was also testimony Thursday that an officer saw one of the kids present in the home grab a bag of meth and put it in their mouth.
The arrest of the two occurred back in May and with the judge finding probable cause, the two will be arraigned on Monday.