Drug seller allegedly advertised on Web

HEMET: Police say man advertised marijuana on popular Craigslist site.

By CHARLES HAND/The Valley Chronicle

OK, so you've got some extra grass and you want to make a little on the side by selling it. What do you do?

Ask around the ‘hood to see whether anyone needs a toke? Maybe give a couple of close friends a call to see whether their stash is low?

How about running an Internet classified ad identifying yourself and even saying you live in Hemet so police would alert on your ad? No?

Well, that's just what someone allegedly did.

Investigators from the Hemet Police Department's Crime Suppression Unit caught up with the would-be marijuana salesman earlier this week after several online chats and phone calls generated by an ad on Craigslist, the Police Department reported.

Craigslist is a worldwide classified site on which people try to buy things, sell things, seek mates, get involved with online chat, and conduct other activities. The site is localized so participants can find ads and other participants from their communities.

It was on the site that investigators say they discovered someone who was apparently advertising marijuana.

They conducted several online chats and phone calls culminating in a deal for two ounces of marijuana to be delivered near the intersection of Highway 74 and Second Street west of Hemet Oct. 10.

Officers met Ronald Gray, 36, of Moreno Valley and Frank Lewis, 30, of Wildomar, who were subsequently arrested with two ounces of what police said was high grade marijuana, according to the Police Department news release.

The investigation led to the search of Gray's residence on Cambridge Court in Moreno Valley, where officers found a small indoor grow, a small amount of marijuana being dried, four plants growing in the back yard, and three-quarters of a pound of packaged marijuana, according to the news release.

An unloaded rifle was also allegedly found.

Gray and Lewis were charged with possession of marijuana for sales, cultivation of marijuana, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and conspiracy to commit a felony.

This is not the first time Craigslist has been used by local investigators, though it is the first time it has been used in a drug arrest.

Undercover operations have resulted in the arrests of prostitutes soliciting customers on Craigslist.