Monterey County SWAT team finds armed felon while serving warrant for sexual assault case

MONTEREY, Calif. (KION) The Monterey County Sheriff's Office says two brothers were arrested Wednesday while the SWAT team served a search warrant in connection to a sexual assault case.

Earlier this year, investigators said the mother of an underage girl reported that a 25-year-old man had a sexual relationship with her daughter. Investigators said they also learned that the man had used the victim as a facilitator to sell and advertise illegal substances, such as LSD and hallucinogenic mushrooms, to minors on social media.

Wednesday morning, investigators with the Sheriff's Office and members of the SWAT team served a search warrant on Hawthorne Street in connection to the case and came across the suspect's 22-year-old brother, a convicted felon. The Sheriff's Office said he had a loaded handgun when the SWAT team found him, but he was detained without incident after a "highly dangerous and tense encounter."

The original suspect was also found and detained. During the search, investigators said they found that the suspect had LSD and hallucinogenic mushrooms. They said the gun the suspect's brother had was unregistered.

Both men were arrested and booked into the Monterey County Jail. The 25-year-old suspect was arrested on sexual and drug-related charges, and his 22-year-old brother was arrested on weapons charges and probation violation.

Anyone with information about the case is asked to call Det. Rosy Silva at 831-755-3718 or Det. Sergeant Bryan Hoskins at 831-755-3773.