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Heroin use has been on the rise in Nevada County over the past two years, Nevada County District Attorney Cliff Newell said Friday; a bust last week was just one of the higher-profile incidents.
Ten people were arrested in the Oct. 14 operation on the 100 block of Doris Drive, near downtown Grass Valley.
“We'll be working on people getting some serious sentences,” Newell said.
Some users assume heroin is safer than methamphetamine because it comes from a natural source — an opium poppy.
“That's so far from the truth, it's scary,” Newell said, noting heroin is just as addictive as meth and can more easily cause an overdose.
The Nevada County Sheriff's Narcotics Task Force has been effective in cutting down meth production centers, Newell said, but the rise of heroin emphasizes the need to educate young people on its dangers, too.
Cases involving the people arrested in last week's raid are winding through Nevada County Superior Court:
• Forest Zachariah Graham, 21, was charged with offering to sell heroin. Graham also is set to be sentenced after pleading to drug charges filed in June 2008 involving possession of methadone and the anti-anxiety drug Lorazepam. He is out on bail and is scheduled to appear in court Oct. 26.
• Katelyn Renee Imsdahl, 22, of Grass Valley, was charged with offering to sell heroin. She will appear in court Nov. 9.
• Bradley Daniel Zinola, 21, of Grass Valley, was arrested at the Grass Valley bust, but charges stemming from the incident have not been filed.
In a separate case, Zinola was arraigned Oct. 19 on misdemeanor charges of attempted petty theft and damage or theft of part of a vehicle in September. In a third case, he faces misdemeanor charges of violating probation for a petty theft committed in May 2008. He had earlier served jail time for a similar crime.
Zinola is out on bail and will appear in court Nov. 4.
• Kalen Drake Turner, 19, of Washington, was charged with attempting to offer to sell heroin. Turner is also in three other misdemeanor proceedings: Unlawful use of the prescription painkiller Dilaudid and unlawful possession of a hypodermic needle around Sept. 23; second-degree commercial burglary and receiving stolen property in late July; and theft at a Safeway supermarket in mid-July.
Turner is in Nevada County jail and will appear in court Oct. 26.
• Bradly James Walker, 33, listed as a transient, was charged with offering to sell heroin.
• Jeffrey Allen Moody, 26, of Rough and Ready, was charged with offering to sell heroin. He will appear in court Nov. 9.
• Dusty Luke Miller, 26, of Grass Valley, was arraigned Oct. 22 on charges of possession of heroin, possession of heroin for sale, maintaining a building for selling and using heroin, unlawful possession of a hypodermic needle and possession of heroin while armed with a firearm. He entered a plea of not guilty and is in the Nevada County jail in lieu of $80,000 bail. His next court date is Nov. 19.
• Brian Daehoon Kim, 24, was charged with possession of instruments for injecting or smoking controlled substances. Arraignment is set for Nov. 16.
• Prosecutors have not filed charges against Kellie Michelle Bowlan, 23, of Grass Valley, who also was detained in the Oct. 14 raid, Deputy District Attorney Anna Ferguson said.
• One of the people arrested was a man from Florida who allegedly told officers he was in town to process marijuana for sale. No information was available about him.
To contact Staff Writer Michelle Rindels, e-mail mrindels@theunion.com or call (530) 477-4247.
Ten people were arrested in the Oct. 14 operation on the 100 block of Doris Drive, near downtown Grass Valley.
“We'll be working on people getting some serious sentences,” Newell said.
Some users assume heroin is safer than methamphetamine because it comes from a natural source — an opium poppy.
“That's so far from the truth, it's scary,” Newell said, noting heroin is just as addictive as meth and can more easily cause an overdose.
The Nevada County Sheriff's Narcotics Task Force has been effective in cutting down meth production centers, Newell said, but the rise of heroin emphasizes the need to educate young people on its dangers, too.
Cases involving the people arrested in last week's raid are winding through Nevada County Superior Court:
• Forest Zachariah Graham, 21, was charged with offering to sell heroin. Graham also is set to be sentenced after pleading to drug charges filed in June 2008 involving possession of methadone and the anti-anxiety drug Lorazepam. He is out on bail and is scheduled to appear in court Oct. 26.
• Katelyn Renee Imsdahl, 22, of Grass Valley, was charged with offering to sell heroin. She will appear in court Nov. 9.
• Bradley Daniel Zinola, 21, of Grass Valley, was arrested at the Grass Valley bust, but charges stemming from the incident have not been filed.
In a separate case, Zinola was arraigned Oct. 19 on misdemeanor charges of attempted petty theft and damage or theft of part of a vehicle in September. In a third case, he faces misdemeanor charges of violating probation for a petty theft committed in May 2008. He had earlier served jail time for a similar crime.
Zinola is out on bail and will appear in court Nov. 4.
• Kalen Drake Turner, 19, of Washington, was charged with attempting to offer to sell heroin. Turner is also in three other misdemeanor proceedings: Unlawful use of the prescription painkiller Dilaudid and unlawful possession of a hypodermic needle around Sept. 23; second-degree commercial burglary and receiving stolen property in late July; and theft at a Safeway supermarket in mid-July.
Turner is in Nevada County jail and will appear in court Oct. 26.
• Bradly James Walker, 33, listed as a transient, was charged with offering to sell heroin.
• Jeffrey Allen Moody, 26, of Rough and Ready, was charged with offering to sell heroin. He will appear in court Nov. 9.
• Dusty Luke Miller, 26, of Grass Valley, was arraigned Oct. 22 on charges of possession of heroin, possession of heroin for sale, maintaining a building for selling and using heroin, unlawful possession of a hypodermic needle and possession of heroin while armed with a firearm. He entered a plea of not guilty and is in the Nevada County jail in lieu of $80,000 bail. His next court date is Nov. 19.
• Brian Daehoon Kim, 24, was charged with possession of instruments for injecting or smoking controlled substances. Arraignment is set for Nov. 16.
• Prosecutors have not filed charges against Kellie Michelle Bowlan, 23, of Grass Valley, who also was detained in the Oct. 14 raid, Deputy District Attorney Anna Ferguson said.
• One of the people arrested was a man from Florida who allegedly told officers he was in town to process marijuana for sale. No information was available about him.
To contact Staff Writer Michelle Rindels, e-mail mrindels@theunion.com or call (530) 477-4247.
