– By F. Scott Faulkner
SANTA MARIA, CA — July 8, 2025 – A routine Sunday evening traffic stop turned into a major drug bust.
Santa Maria police arrested a local man after discovering a sizable stash of methamphetamine and fentanyl inside his
vehicle.
According to SMPD spokesman Lt. Andy Magallon, at 6:30 p.m. on July 6
patrol officers pulled over a car “traveling through downtown Santa Maria for a
traffic violation.”
Behind the wheel, was 28-year-old Santa Maria resident Victor Ricardo Garza
Pulido. Upon contact with Pulido, officers quickly determined that he was wanted on an
outstanding arrest warrant.
With probable cause established, officers searched Pulido’s vehicle and hit the narcotics jackpot:
roughly two pounds of meth and about an ounce and a half of fentanyl, suspected to be possessed
by Pulido “with the intent to sell or distribute.”
Garza Pulido was taken into custody without incident and transported to Santa Barbara County
Jail where he was booked on felony charges of transportation and sale of controlled substances.
Pulido remains in custody with his bail set at $100,000.
