TIDE makes two busts for meth

Two large drug busts were made in Tehama County on Thursday, one netting a local resident and the other pulling more than half a pound of cocaine off the streets.

Lora Renee Zimmerman (a.k.a Valencia), 25, of Corning driving a 2007 Honda on Rawson Road near Gallagher Avenue at 8:30 p.m. when she was stopped by a Corning police officer who was aware the Tehama Interagency Drug Enforcement team had obtained a search warrant to search Zimmerman and her vehicle for drugs.

“The officer knew of the warrant and that we had been looking for her,” Eric Maher, TIDE speical agent supervisor, said. “The warrant gave him probable cause to make the stop.”

During a search of Zimmerman, agents located and seized 13.6 grams of crystal methamphetamine and $662, according to a news release.

Also located were drug packaging materials and prescription Valium, Darvocet, and Ambien, for which Zimmerman did not have a prescription, said Maher.

She was arrested and booked into the Tehama County Jail on suspicion of possession of methamphetamine for sale, transportation of methamphetamine, and illegal possession of prescription medication. Zimmerman was released Friday after posting $70,000 bail. 

At 11:15 p.m., California Highway Patrol Officer Nataly Bassett made a traffic stop on a vehicle with a non-working front headlight traveling northbound on Interstate 5, three miles north of Flores Avenue.

Bassett spoke with the driver, Terrence Harvey, 29, of Redding, and was checking his driver’s license with CHP dispatch when Harvey left the vehicle and fled the scene on foot.

Bassett stayed with the vehicle and a passenger in the vehicle, Brianna Nicole Marye, 23, of Shasta Lake, and immediately called for backup.

With use of a CHP helicopter and assistance from the Tehama County Sheriff’s Department, a search was conducted for Harvey who was not located and is still at large, said Maher.

 Marye was detained while the vehicle was searched. CHP officers located a plastic bag contained 255.1 grams of cocaine, Maher said.

While Marye was being booked into the Tehama County Jail, 85.8 grams of crack cocaine was located in the front of her pants, according to Maher.

She was booked on suspicion of bringing a controlled substance into jail, possession of a narcotic controlled substance, possession of cocaine base for sale, and transportation for sale of a  narcotic controlled substance. Bail was set at $250,000.

“TIDE was called to assist in the search of the vehicle and in the search for Harvey and is working with Shasta County law enforcement in an attempt to locate and arrest him,” said Maher.

According to Maher, the estimated street value of the cocaine is $21,255.