EPD Makes Several Drug Arrests

Wreck leads to discovery of hash, ecstasy, vicodin

Humboldt Sentinel
News 6/29/08
By Sentinel Staff

EUREKA -- EPD officers turned routine beat work into several drug arrests Friday and Saturday, taking three people to Humboldt County Correctional Facility for various charges.

At about 8:20 p.m. Friday, officers were sent to a traffic collision at Buhne and E Streets. While Kristina Babauta, 24, was taking her belongings out of a wrecked vehicle, an officer noticed her backpack smelled strongly of marijuana.

The officer searched the backpack and found “hash,” or concentrated cannabis marijuana, several unprescribed Vicodin pills, and a tablet thought to be ecstasy.

Babauta has been jailed for possession of a controlled substance and having concentrated cannabis. The driver of Babauta’s vehicle, Cassady Mandzik, 28, has been busted for drunken driving.

At about 1:32 a.m. Saturday, an officer on patrol spotted Stephen Mallory, 53, driving a Nissan sedan without working tail lights north on C Street just past Harris Street and stopped him for the traffic violation.

Learning Mallory was on probation, the officer searched Mallory and found he had what is suspected to be methamphetamine.

Mallory has been jailed for possession of a controlled substance and violating probation.

Later at about 11:45 a.m. Saturday, someone approached an officer on patrol to report seeing about a dozen people coming and going from a motel room within a short period of time, making him suspect drug deals.

When officers knocked on the door of the motel room on the 1100 block of 5th Street to investigate, Tong Yang, 48, invited them inside and offered to let them check the room.

Inside the room officers found a digital gram scale, drug packaging materials and two plastic baggies with a small amount of suspected crystal methamphetamine hidden inside a cigarette box.

Yang has been jailed for possession of a controlled substance.