Amador County – A proactive Ione Police Department made an arrest of two people in a high-crime area of Ione Tuesday, which included a weapons charge, and narcotics charges for possession and possession for the purpose of sale.

Ione Police Chief Michael L. Johnson said in a release Wednesday that a “dangerous street encounter” by IPD narcotics officers resulted in two arrests on multiple charges.

Johnson said at about 10 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 25, “the Ione Police Department contacted three adult males loitering in the area of the 200 block of South Buena Vista Street in Ione. The consensual contact with the males quickly resulted in narcotics arrests of two of the subjects.”

“During the contact, the Ione Police Officer noted suspicious and evasive behavior,” Johnson said. “A failure to comply with the officers instructions resulted in the three individuals being held at gun point” and being ordered to lay prone on the street.

“The officer recovered a gun from the waistband of one of the subjects,” Johnsons said, and “several bindles of heroin, methamphetamine, and marijuana were also eventually seized from their persons.”

The two who were arrested were Kaleb Fillmore, 21, and Blaine Yarbrough, 20, both from the Pioneer area. Fillmore and Yarbrough were both booked into Amador County jail on possession narcotics and possession of narcotics for sale.

Johnson said this area of Ione “has become readily identifiable by both law enforcement and the general public” as a place “where identified gang members and associated criminals loiter.” He said in that area, the “Ione Police Department has increased patrols and stepped up their proactive enforcement efforts.”

He said: “This dangerous confrontation is an example of the criminal element that is attempting to move operations in, and about the Ione area.”

Ione Police Department has summoned the assistance of the Amador County Combined Narcotics Enforcement Team and coordinated with the Amador County Gang Task force to further investigate this and other related matters in the city, Johnson said. He said IPD “currently has two officers dedicated to the Gang Task Force efforts and is extremely active in gang intervention enforcement details.”

Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.