Three charged with meth, cocaine offenses at Hull garage

Federal immigration officials are expected to take custody of two of the three people arrested this week after methamphetamine and cocaine were seized at a small garage on U.S. Highway 29 in Hull. According to Madison County Sheriff’s Chief Deputy Shawn Burns, the men were arrested Monday when deputies executed a search warrant at the garage. A K-9 unit located the drugs, he said. Sarah Alexander, 21, and Moises Ortiz, 37, both of Hull, and Walter Matos, 36, of Nicholson, were all charged with possession of meth and cocaine with the intent to distribute. Alexander was released on a $11,100 bond, but U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has placed a “hold” on Ortiz and Matos, who remain in jail. Burns said he expects ICE to take custody of the men. According to an ICE spokesman, a “hold” means “we have interest in someone in their custody and basically it requests they provide us with 48 hours to pick that person up.” The person also “may not have status to be in the United States,” he said. Alexander also was charged with possession of a firearm during a crime after she was found in possession of a 9mm pistol, Burns said. The garage where the arrests were made has been under covert investigation for weeks, according to Burns. “In general our investigators worked with confidential informers and we built a case slowly. It’s been about a five-week ordeal,” he said Matos was working at the shop, according to Burns. Also located at the shop was a jet ski reported stolen in Putnam County. Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sill said Thursday that the jet ski, along with a trailer, was reported stolen on Dec. 24 from High Grove Marina along Lake Sinclair. The jet ski was valued at $3,000 and deputies never had leads on who stole it, he said.