Full Notification

Two Riverside area residents are in custody following the discovery of a panga boat this morning, September 28, 2015, at San Onofre Beach located within Gaviota State Park. A resident was walking his dog on a trail at approximately 9:00 a.m. when he saw what appeared to be a panga boat on the beach below. Sheriff’s deputies and California State Parks personnel responded as did Santa Barbara County Air Support and a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter. The boat was confirmed to be a twin engine drug smuggling boat approximately 30 feet long. One marijuana bale was discovered inside the boat and another bale was located nearby. Fuel barrels were found inside the boat and in the water. Items left by the occupants of the boat were located strewn about the area. While no suspects were found in the boat, two male subjects were located in the area and detained.

Following an investigation by Sheriff’s narcotics detectives and personnel from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the two suspects, 32-year-old Francisco Soltero and 38-year-old James Pierce, both from the Riverside area, were transported to the Santa Barbara County Jail and booked on charges of being under the influence of a controlled substance and the possession, transportation and sales of marijuana. HSI took possession of the boat and is conducting a joint investigation with the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office.