Two arrested, pound of meth seized in Redmond Walmart lot

Central Oregon drug agents stopped a car and arrested a Washington state man and a transient in Redmond Walmart parking lot Wednesday night, later seizing about a pound of methamphetamine found hidden in the dashboard, officials said.

CODE Team detectives arrested Jose Ramon Martinez Castelo, 30, of Federal Wash., Wash., and transient Yahir Acosta, 26, in an investigation of their alleged trafficking of large quantities of meth into Deschutes County, said Lt. Ken Mannix.

Detectives had learned a significant quantity of meth was being brought in from the Portland area and were able to identify the suspects and silver 2013 Chevy they were using, Mannix said.

Around 9 p.m., detectives performed a high-risk (guns drawn) stop on the car, with Castelo and Acosta inside and arrested without incident, the lieutenant said. A search turned up the hidden pound of meth, worth about $16,000 on the street.

Both men were taken to the Deschutes County Jail in Bend, where both face meth possession manufacturing and distribution charges. Castelo was held on $35,000 bail, while Acosta, whose charges also include cocaine possession, was held on $50,000 bail.