Dinuba man allegedly runs a drug house, & sex with a minor

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- A South Valley man is under arrest for running a drug house, having sex with a minor and endangering a one year old.

Miguel Mendoza is in the Tulare County Jail after he was arrested this weekend.

Tulare County Sheriff's Deputies say Miguel Mendoza was selling drugs out of his Dinuba home along with a 17 year old female. Investigators discovered the two were also having a sexual relationship.

Tulare County Sheriff's Deputies are still making the rounds on Lawrence Avenue after the latest drug bust.

A two week investigation led deputies to the neighborhood where they closed in on a house they say was used to sell drugs. Inside detectives uncovered 38.7 grams of methamphetamine packaged for sale and 2.5 pounds of marijuana. They also found a 16 month old child, exposed to it all.

Chris Douglass with the Tulare County Sheriff's Department said, "When you maintain a residence that has illegal narcotic trafficking, there's a lot of dangers involved as well."

Sheriff's investigators say both Mendoza and the 17 year old female were selling drugs together. The investigation is still ongoing and Sergeant Chris Douglass says deputies are also working to get more information from those who live nearby.

Sergeant Chris Douglass said, "When a case like this does happen, we will canvas the area to see if anyone else has information they'd like to provide. Also provide them with our Tip Now information because they may not want to tell us when we are standing there and neighbors can see them but they may want to provide that information at another time."

Investigators won't say how long the two have operated a drug house. They will also not reveal who the baby belongs to. The child is now in the custody of child welfare services.

The street value of the drugs is about 11 thousand dollars total. Although the 17 year old is being treated as a victim in the sex count, she is also an accomplice on all of the drug charges.

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