Suspects face drug charges after arrest at Menifee hotel

Two people arrested by Sheriff’s Department deputies in Menifee on Tuesday face drug and firearm charges, authorities said.

Laura Villa, 31, of Lake Elsinore and Scott Whalin, 30, of Hemet each face four felony charges for possession of narcotics for sale and being a felon in possession of a firearm. They were taken into custody by deputies from the Lake Elsinore Sheriff’s Station at the Fairfield Inn & Suites hotel, located in Menifee Town Center at Newport Road and Town Center Drive.

Members of the station’s Special Enforcement Team had received information regarding illegal narcotic sales in Lake Elsinore, leading them in the course of the investigation to the hotel in Menifee, according to a Sheriff’s Department news release.

The suspects were in possession of two ounces of fentanyl, one and a half ounces of methamphetamine, M30 (oxycodone) pills, Xanax pills, a large sum of U.S. currency and a loaded firearm, officials said. Deputies also recovered additional items common with the sale of narcotics.

Villa and Whalin are being held at the Southwest Detention Center in Murrieta – Villa with bail set at $25,000 and Whalin without bail. Both have court dates in the Murrieta Southwest Detention Center on Thursday.

Anyone with information regarding this case is urged to contact Deputy Yu at the Lake Elsinore Sheriff’s Station, 951-245-3300.