Search warrants lead to two arrests

12 pounds of heroin, 1 pound of meth, 18 firearms, thousands of ammunition rounds recovered

Investigations conducted by Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office Special Enforcement Team led to recent arrests of two residents on felony charges.

After SET detectives served multiple search warrants, they were able to uncover evidence to charge Mario Villasenor of Aptos of narcotics, trafficking and sales, and Christopher Singer of Santa Cruz, a felon convicted of attempted murder in relation to a shooting outside a Westside bar in 2014, of weapons-related charges.

When searching Villasenor’s property, the Sheriff’s Office wrote on social media, detectives seized more than 12 pounds of heroin, 1 pound of methamphetamine and a loaded handgun.

“To put that amount of heroin into perspective, that’s valued at roughly $450,000,” the department said.

When searching Singer’s property, detectives found 17 firearms with thousands of rounds of ammunition and equipment to make suppressors or silencers that muffle the noise of a firearm.

According to the Santa Cruz Count y Superior Court portal, Villasenor has been charged with two counts of conspiracy and three counts of possession of a controlled substance. He was arraigned Dec. 8; a county booking search indicates that he posted bail. Villasenor has previously appeared in court for traffic and DUI-related cases.

The court portal also shows that Singer, who was in court for more than four years over his previous runin with the law, is already facing an active criminal case in relation to February 2020 charges of second-degree felony burglary, possession of a stolen vehicle and prior serious felony in accordance with California’s three-strikes law. The portal indicates that a case around his recent firearmbased arrest has not yet been filed; however, Singer will appear in court on Jan. 25 for a preliminary hearing around his burglaryrelated charges. He is also out on bail.