Stash of drugs found near Atwater infant’s crib

Police arrested two men early Tuesday after finding guns and drugs in an Atwater house where a stash of methamphetamine was discovered a few feet away from an infant girl’s crib.

Officers arrested Codie R. Belton, 18, and Serafim B. Aguiar, 24, on suspicion of child endangerment, possession of a controlled substance while armed, possession of stolen property, possession of narcotics for sale and contributing to the delinquency of a minor, Atwater police said in a statement.

Police responded just after 2 a.m. to reports of gunshots striking mailboxes and garbage bins in the 1100 block of Swaps Street. Investigators noted that nothing had been struck, but continued to examine the neighborhood before they spotted several people walking in and out of a house and overheard someone talking about “shooting someone,” police said in the news release.

Police said one man came outside, armed with a gun, and was confronted by police. Several other people also came outside, while others fled out the backdoor. Investigators, during a search of the home, found a total of three handguns, one of which had been stolen, and a shotgun. Officers found another loaded firearm in a vehicle outside the home, police said.

“Narcotics were also located adjacent to an infant’s crib inside of one of the bedrooms,” Interim Chief Samuel Joseph said in a statement.

The 11-month-old girl was taken into protective custody, police said.

“It’s sad that a little baby would have to be subjected to these dangers; chemical dangers from nearby drugs; dangers from possible retaliation from other gang members, possibly firing a stray bullet,” Joseph told the Sun-Star. “It’s just sad to think of a child around all these gangs, and drugs, and guns.”

Joseph praised the work of the officers and detectives and noted that officers “diligently investigating” a shots-fired call “uncovered a much bigger and very important case.”

“They really did a great job following through on their investigation,” Joseph said. “They kept after it and ended up locating dangerous people and discovered and likely saved that child from getting hurt.”

This story was originally published October 18, 2016 at 3:19 PM with the headline "Stash of drugs found near Atwater infant’s crib."