Four arrested in Los Banos, marijuana oil seized

An early-morning car burglary in Los Banos ended with four people under arrest, including the burglary victim, after police found a marijuana oil laboratory inside his vehicle, the Police Department reported.

Eric Corona, 24, of Los Banos, was arrested on suspicion of possession of concentrated cannabis and manufacture of cannabis extract, both felonies, police said in a news release.

Corona’s car was burglarized around 3:45 a.m. Thursday, allegedly by Nikolas Savala, 18, of Los Banos, and a 17-year-old male. Savala and the teenager were arrested on suspicion of burglary, vandalism, conspiracy to commit a crime and possession of burglary tools.

A fourth man, Damery Foster, 44, also was accused of contributing to the delinquency of a minor as the burglary suspects’ alleged “get-away car” driver for Savala and the teen, according to police.

Los Banos detectives were investigating an unrelated case around 3:45 a.m. Thursday in the 200 block of Santa Rita Street when they spotted the two teenage males shining a flashlight into vehicles, according to the release.

The teenagers shattered the driver side window of Corona’s 2005 BMW and ran away after removing some items, police said.

They climbed into a vehicle allegedly driven by Foster and left the area, but were stopped a short time later by police in the area of Overland Avenue and Mercy Springs Road, investigators said.

Inside the alleged getaway vehicle, the detectives found marijuana and cannabis oil, officers said.

While investigating the car burglary, they found evidence of a butane honey oil lab inside Corona’s car, police said.

The Merced Area Gang and Narcotics Task Force responded to the incident and served a search warrant at Corona’s home on the 200 block of Santa Rita Street, where Corona was arrested.

Corona was still in custody on $520,000 bail Friday morning.

This story was originally published May 13, 2016 at 3:30 PM with the headline "Four arrested in Los Banos, marijuana oil seized."