Anonymous
At approximately 10:00 a.m., on December 31st 2018, Deputies with the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office conducted a narcotics related investigation at a home in the 100 block of Nogal Drive in Santa Barbara. As a result of the investigation, it was discovered the owner of the property, 52 year old Charles Romanus of Santa Barbara, a convicted felon, was operating a house where narcotics were being manufactured by means of a clandestine lab. Evidence collected indicated narcotics were also being sold and used at the location. Multiple items of evidence, including a firearm, were located as well as chemicals, dozens of syringes, and other narcotics related paraphernalia. During the investigation, it was also learned that a local pre-school was also located on the property. Harmony Pre-School, which has approximately eleven students ages 2 – 5 has been operating for the past 11 years at that location, and is just feet from where narcotics were being made, sold, and used. An evacuation of the school was attempted, but due to the holiday break, no students were present.
Romanus, whose bail has been set at $100,000 was booked into the Santa Barbara County Jail along with Brandon Topete, for narcotics related charges and a felony warrant for robbery. Henry Hewitt was also arrested for impersonating another and forgery.
Detectives with the Special Investigations Bureau along with Santa Barbara County Fire Department responded and removed harmful chemicals from the residence associated with narcotics manufacturing.
Along with owning the residence that Harmony Pre-School operates from, Romanus also operated a non-profit animal rescue facility on the property. A total of 6 cats were collected by S.B. Co. Animal Control.
The safety and welfare of the citizens of our county, including all children, is the top priority of the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department. Anyone with information regarding this incident, or who have children who attend Harmony Pre-School, are asked to please call the Sheriff’s Office at 805-681-4100 if you are concerned about possible exposure risks your child may have had. To leave an anonymous tip regarding this or any other crime you have information about, please call 805-681-4171 or go to https://www.sbsheriff.org/
52 year old Charles Romanus of Santa Barbara
Charges: 11379.6HS – Illegally manufacturing narcotics – Felony
11353.6HS – Violation of Drug Trafficking and Schoolyard Act of 1988 -Felony
273a(a)PC – Child Endangerment – Felony
11366HS – Operate or maintain a place for Narcotics use – Felony
29800(a)(1)PC- Felon in Possession of a Firearm – Felony
32 year old Henry Hewitt of Santa Barbara
Charges : 529 PC- False Impersonation of another – Felony
470 PC – Forgery – Felony
24 year old Brandon Topete of Goleta
Charges : No Bail Warrant for 211PC – Robbery – Felony
11350 HS Possession of Controlled Substance – Misd
11364 HS Possession of Injecting device – Misd
There are a lot of cops and what appear to be special investigation unit firefighters off Nogal Drive near Hollister Ave. I’m not sure if it’s some kind of hazardous waste or drug raid but there’s a lot of activity in the area. Does anyone have more information?
i didn’t hear it out taking care of biz don’t cover drug busts anyway I’m not insured like the real professional grown up journalists are…:)
DOYL according to the Independent, they were cooking crack from cocaine. Not as “high tech” as meth, but definitely bad to have around a preschool. Heck, even if it were only for personal use that day, I would DEFINITELY not want my kids on the same property as someone who is cooking up crack on new year’s eve. Would you?
Any updates on this? Seems surprising the amount of disbelief. If there was a crack house on the same property as a preschool, we have the right know.
wow, unbelievable. I wonder who ran the pre-school and if they knew?
Good grief, a pre-school next to their lab. Parents must be horrified, neighbors too..
Another sociopath. No regard for anyone but himself. That isn’t a curable condition. For public safety, he will need to be closely supervised the rest of his life.
Why is there no mention of the actual narcotic being manufactured in the “lab”? There’s a HUGE difference between someone making marijuana edibles or hash and making meth or MDMA.
Also sad for the animals that were there… children and animals need to be safe, not at a drug lab. This is sad and tragic. Kudos to law enforcement for catching these guys before it got way worse.
SB Observer – “Chemicals and syringes” aren’t usually used in the manufacturing of pot edibles. This was likely something far more dangerous than some pot brownies being baked.
so you actually know this is a drug lab? are drug labs the only operation that uses chemicals? what about a silkscreen shop? they use chemicals. he happens to owen a well known and established silk screen business…..
Zerohawk, how do you explain the charge of manufacturing narcotics? If it was only a silkscreen business, then how would the police mistake that for drug manufacturing? Could there have been activity your friend was unaware of on his property?
because the police go off of ‘leads’ and ‘tips’. charges are just a charge, there is nothing factual stating a charge is solid until the case is wrapped up. i got arrested when i was 16 for carrying my uncles butterfly knife. do you know what that charge was? possession of a concealed deadly weapon. same as if i were carrying a sawed off shotgun. big difference there.
they can press charges for him doing all sorts of things related to what they THINK is going on. Chemicals used in many different businesses are the same that the bad guys use to maufacturer narcotics. All they really have on him is a felon in possession of a firearm, which is stupid on his part. But i assure you there is no manufacturing of drugs there. He runs a cat sanctuary, has a well established silk screen business as well, on the property. His silk screen shop has been a local business for a long time. He’s also a good human. I’ve known him for about 30 years.
Well, in order for the DA to charge someone, they need more than just a police “tip,” but I won’t get into criminal procedure law… Either way, they must have found something to substantiate the charge. Perhaps something these 2 younger men were doing without your friend’s knowledge? Just allowing hard drug users on the premises while possessing an illegal gun (felon’s can’t have them) while at the same time allowing a pre-school to operate is bad enough. He may be a “good human,” but this was dangerous and irresponsible.
FYI, circling back on this. they were only able to prove the one felony on him. possession of a firearm. some charges were dropped to misdemeanors, others dismissed. people with addictions need counselling and help, not jail. jail isn’t the answer to every problem that is committed against a society. rehabilitation and treatment is an answer and it’s helped this man get back on his feet, away from additions and demons and is back to being a good human, the same one i knew before he took that terrible turn down the wrong road in life.
KNein – I agree and hope he gets whatever help he needs. Thanks for following up on this! So, where the chemicals solely used for legitimate purposes? Be interesting to see how they went from crack manufacturing to nothing. Did they younger guys maybe have crack on them and the DA assumed it was cooked there? Either way, glad they found the children weren’t in any danger.
DOYL – what doesn’t “smell right?” It seems pretty straightforward. Some bad folks with an illegal gun and alleged narcotics manufacturing equipment were arrested on the same property as a preschool and an animal shelter. What exactly is so “fishy” about this?
Ok, the Independent has more info. Apparently, it was a cocaine to crack operation. I’m pretty confident that the Independent would not add this information if there was no basis for it. https://www.independent.com/news/2019/jan/02/rock-cocaine-bust-made-nogal-drive/
if it walks like a duck
I know the older one. He’s helped 1000s of addicts get sober and has saved a lot of animals. This is addiction. It can happen to anyone. He made some bad choices under the influence that I would bet a million dollars he would of never done sober. I know him that well. He needs help. He recently got in trouble. His prior felony was a month ago. He has no criminal record. I have known him my whole life. When he’s sober I would have no problem letting him watch my kids and I know most of his true friends would say the same. He relapsed after 25 years sober about a year ago. Those 2 other scumbags were using him for his property and money. Everyone knows that. I can’t believe the media is portrayed him as some monster. I laugh at that
Not really portraying him as a “monster,” just as the owner of property that is being used by a preschool where people pay a lot of money to be sure their children are safe and secure. He made a terrible choice by allowing drug users into his home and making crack (according to the Independent), ESPECIALLY if he was a former user. Sorry, but you pay the price for your choices. We all do at some point.
Over reaction and bad reporting that upends lives. There was no drug lab. The daycare was a separate entity and not associated. They rented space like someone rents an apartment on the same property as another. Now the daycare risks being shuttered. Kids lives get tossed and parents are left scrambling. All because sensationalist exaggerate emotionally with juvenile storytelling.
Wow! Almost every comment deleted on a thread that happens to showcase everything wrong with our society. Pure uncensored sensationalism based on nothing more than an accusation and a series of pitchfork carrying, mob mentality comments follow in tow. Edhat and every other so-called “news” outlet should be sued for this libelous junk. Innocent until proven guilty, unless its in the court of public opinion! This kind of reporting is disgusting on so many levels. The over zealous DA, the brainwashed ignoramuses, AKA. D.A.R.E LEO and the yellow journalism that follows is absolutely disgusting. Nothing more than a gossip for simpletons.
@ Santabarbaraobserver what exactly is libelous in this article? Reporting on what the DA has charged them with is not defamatory. It is fact. But what else do you see as defamatory?
by insinuating that a charge is a fact. that’s what you’re doing. there is no proof a charge is factual until they have solid evidence. just saying something is one thing, proving it is totally different.
wow….deleted comments that were some serious facts. this is a cherry picking site for people that just like to argue fact and believe what they read online. with no research into it.
My best friend was screwed over by the DA on trumped up drug charges that were publicized, so I understand your frustration. HOWEVER, reporting that these men were charged is NOT libelous. A libelous statement must be FALSE. Unfortunately, no matter the outcome, unless this report is factually incorrect (ie, the men were not charged with these crimes), this article is not defamatory and you won’t be able to sue to remove it. That’s simply how it goes.
EdHat has a choice on whether they publish this kind of stuff or not. They chose to publish this article, while choosing not to publish hundreds if not thousands of others from all sort of sources. You are wrong, they can certainly be sued for defamation. Whether the plaintiff wins or not is not up to you or me, but the courts. And since EdHat is not a news org in any formal sense, they can be held personally responsible. Personally, I look forward to the day these suits are filed as I find EdHat’s and other local so-called, ‘news’ sites choice on these matters to be an affront to justice and ethics. Innocent until proven guilty…
SBobserver – do your homework. Defamation/libel cases rarely go through because they don’t have a whole lot to hold up to. Lawyers make threats but generally do not like to take on these cases because they’re unable to win (unless you’re Taylor Swift suing the National Enquirer). This article was written by the Sheriff’s Office, if you’re so offended you should contact them with your complaint and threaten lawsuits.
SB OBSERVER, nope, you’re wrong. Please specify where the false statement of fact was made. Where these guys charged? Yes or no? Were they arrested? Yes or no? Etc etc. If Edhat said they were GUILTY of these charges, then yeah, that’s defamatory. Simply stating the FACT that they were charged with certain crimes, regardless of whether the charges hold, is not defamatory. IT IS FACT. And that’s all I’m going to say about that anymore…..
EdHat, or any small website/publisher for that matter, does not need to be victorious in a suit for it to be effective in changing their behavior. This practice of public shaming is morally indefensible. It’s an affront to justice and the tenant of “innocence until proven guilty in a court of law”.
A couple commenters happen to know the guy pictured, and all of a sudden the journalists are to blame. Don’t invite crack users into your house if you don’t want to risk your photo in the paper. Are we to assume these three were just getting together for an innocent round of Dungeons & Dragons?
SB OBSERVER – again, NO ONE has said they are guilty, only that they were charged.
Unless you’re Brett Kavanaugh. No due process. Lol