The San Francisco Police Department has made significant progress in its ongoing battle against narcotics within the city. SFPD officers from Mission Station, backed by personnel from Taraval Station, executed a search warrant on a vehicle, leading to the arrest of two alleged drug dealers on May 30, according to the San Francisco Police Department. The search operation that led to the arrest of 46-year-olds Robert Pritchard and Ronald Butera was based on a tip from a community member and took place at 17th and Shotwell Streets.
Inside the vehicle, officers found over $600,000 in cash and a wide array of controlled substances, such as cocaine, ketamine, mushrooms, acid, suspected MDMA, methamphetamine, and prescription narcotics. Seemingly destined for San Francisco's streets, the recovered drugs speak to the continuing challenge the city faces with illegal narcotics distribution.
The suspects are now facing multiple drug-related charges. Pritchard is charged with transporting methamphetamine for sale, possession for sale of a controlled substance, possession of methamphetamine for sale, and substance exceeding 1 kilogram by weight, among others. Butera was hit with charges for the sale or transportation of a controlled substance and possession for sale of a controlled substance, and an outstanding warrant was processed alongside these. Both were booked into San Francisco County Jail, as the SFPD press release detailed.
Captain Thomas Harvey, Commanding Officer of Mission Station, commended the cooperative effort between the community and the police, stating, as per the San Francisco Police Department, "As a result of working together, suspected drug dealers and an abundance of various narcotics – likely destined for the streets of San Francisco – were removed". Nevertheless, the department emphasized that the investigation is ongoing and active, asking anyone with relevant information to reach out to the SFPD Tip Line or to send a text message starting with SFPD to TIP411.
