A suspected methamphetamine dealer arrested after county law enforcement swarmed a suspected San Carlos drug house so squalid a building inspector deemed it uninhabitable pleaded not guilty yesterday to several felonies.
Edward Joseph Alves, 47, of Redwood City, was one of three people arrested at the Greenwood Avenue home after police received several complaints in March about suspected drug dealing. Authorities found the three individuals in the home along with a 5-year-old child, eight pit bulls and a significant amount of animal waste.
Alves, who posted $80,000 bail after his arrest, appeared in court yesterday for his initial arraignment on charges of methamphetamine possession and sale. He pleaded not guilty and returns to court Aug. 3 for a preliminary hearing.
At the time of arrest, Alves had three prior felony convictions from 1991 and 1995.
Sarah Jane DiLorenzo, 25, the other suspect charged by prosecutors, pleaded no contest to felony methamphetamine sales and misdemeanor child endangerment charges in June in return for six months jail and three years supervised probation.
Soon after receiving tips about the home on the 1500 block of Greenwood Avenue, the San Mateo County Narcotics Task Force monitored the household and, between May and June, an undercover informant arranged several covert buys of crystal methamphetamine from DiLorenzo, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
At one sale, DiLorenzo told the informant her drug source had not arrived. Shortly after, Alves reportedly appeared and placed an item in a dresser. DiLorenzo retrieved the item and gave the informant the requested drugs. At another, DiLorenzo’s 5-year-old daughter was present at the sale.
On June 1, the informant asked for more methamphetamine and drug agents watching the home reported seeing Alves visit briefly. The agents pulled Alves over and reported finding in his truck two ounces of methamphetamine. A search of the Greenwood home turned up methamphetamine, packing materials, pay-owe sheets and sales paraphernalia.
Agents also encountered eight pit bulls, two of which they considered aggressive, and the child who was taken into protective custody.
A San Carlos building inspector called to the scene labeled the home uninhabitable due to the unsanitary conditions while authorities arrested DiLorenzo, Alves and another 22-year-old female occupant.