Drug Dealer's Nasty Home Raided

Sergio Manuel Salizar, 24, is in trouble with the Meridian police. Charges of manufacturing marijuana, possession with intent to deliver, possession of drug paraphernalia and animal cruelty are pending against Salizar, whose address is in the 1100 block of Crestwood Drive, Meridian, ID. What is of more interest, however, is the condition of the house that Salizar apparently owned and lived in by himself.

It would be no stretch at all to call Salizar's home a disaster zone. The house, which was in default, was going through the foreclosure process. A man who was hired by the mortgage company, paid a visit to the property. He entered the house and discovered several marijuana plants and noticed a smell of deceased, decaying animals. After finding several dead cats in a bathroom, the man called police.

Meridian police joined by the Ada Metro Narcotics Unit responded by obtaining a search warrant and raiding Salizar's house. When detectives entered the house, they found deplorable conditions. Although it was not The Nastiest Apartment ever discovered, it was pretty bad. Police had to don protective clothing and equipment before entering the house. Here is what they found:

Several kittens had been locked in a bathroom and died of apparent dehydration. A dead Beagle was found decaying inside a pet carrier in the living room. Feces, inches deep, covered the floor in several rooms........ Detectives also found and seized 70 marijuana plants, approximately ¼ pound of processed marijuana packaged for sale and several items used in the manufacturing operation.

Sergio Manuel Salizar was not at home at the time of the raid and has not been seen since. Detectives have been unable to locate Salizar and are asking the community to help. Anyone who has seen Salizar or who has information about his whereabouts is asked to contact Crime Stoppers at 343-COPS or www.boiseareacrimestoppers.org or non-emergency dispatch at 377-6790.

Giving Pot to Kids - Teen gets 8 Years

Demetrius McCoy, 18 of Watauga, Texas was sentenced to 8 years in prison. He pleaded guilty to two charges of injury to a child causing bodily injury. He also pleaded guilty to two charges of burglary of a habitation. He received 8 years on each of the 4 counts all of which to be served concurrently. It was however the charges related to causing bodily injury to a child that were the most shocking.

McCoy and his cousin Vanswan Polty, were arrested in February 2007 after police found a video while executing a search warrant at the Watauga home of McCoy’s grandmother. Police were investigating burglaries that McCoy and Polty are suspected of committing. On the video McCoy was seen giving his two nephews 2 and 5-years-old marijuana to smoke. Below is the video found by the police.

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McCoy who reportedly has a 3-month-old daughter, was seen giving his nephews pot, blowing smoke in their faces, calling them "potheads" and joking about them having the "munchies". When asked about the incident in an interview from jail, McCoy apologized for causing such a firestorm but indicated that he didn't consider what he did to be a serious crime.

"Some people give their kids alcohol, let them smoke ice, methamphetamines. Weed ain't going to kill them," he said.

Watauga Department of Public Safety Director Bruce Ure took the incident very seriously and said the teens encouraged the two young boys to smoke a marijuana cigar. Investigators were appalled as they watched the tape.

"You're watching a crime in progress," Mr. Ure said. "This is their uncle, and he's encouraging them. They were so willing to go along, to please their uncle. Encouraging a 2-year-old who is clearly a baby – it's a baby, and they think it's funny watching him impaired."

In an attempt to minimize his own actions, he said he doesn't believe he is the first to expose the boys to the illegal drug and besides "They wasn't even high," Mr. McCoy said. "They didn't even inhale it right." He said that even if he hadn't giving his nephews the pot to smoke "the youngsters would have eventually smoked the drug anyway."

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In exchange for the eight-year sentence, McCoy must also testify against his co-defendant, Vanswan Polty, officials said. If McCoy had been convicted at trial, he would have faced up to 10 years in prison. Vanswan Polty, 19, remains in the Tarrant County Jail awaiting trial. He faces two charges of injury to a child, three charges of burglary of a habitation and one charge of failing to identify himself to a peace officer.

"I think Mr. McCoy recognized that a Tarrant County jury was not going to stand for his behavior, and he did the proper thing by taking responsibility for his actions," said prosecutor Darrell Davila, who handled the case with Leticia Martinez.

McCoy was represented by defense lawyer Ruben Gonzalez Jr.:

"My client accepted his responsibility," Gonzalez said. "His family has suffered terribly, and it is something he will have to live with."

Shatorria Russell, the children's mother, has said she was asleep in another room in the home, which she shared with her children, grandmother and McCoy when the children smoked marijuana. Child Protective Services removed the children from the home shortly after McCoy’s arrest, and  Russell relinquished her parental rights to the state. The children are living with a foster family and are awaiting adoption, CPS spokeswoman Marissa Gonzales said.