Two men arrested by Joint Narcotics Enforcement Team (JNET) personnel on Monday for alleged possession of nearly 44 pounds of meth have been released from the Lewis County Jail pending federal charges.
The suspects, Lamberto Palomera Mora and Melecio Palomera Mora, were arrested and booked into the Lewis County Jail on possession of a controlled substance with intent to manufacture or deliver charges at 9:27 p.m. on March 17. They were held in the Lewis County Jail on a 72-hour no-bail investigative hold until a judge ordered their release on March 19, according to court documents and previous Chronicle reporting.
An order of dismissal without prejudice for the suspects’ Lewis County cases was filed in Lewis County Superior Court at approximately 11:36 a.m. on March 19.
“The defendant is being charged federally stemming from this incident. The state requests the court dismiss this matter without prejudice so that the federal government can pursue criminal charges at this time,” the Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office stated in dismissal motions for the suspects filed on March 19.
Dismissal without prejudice means the case can be refiled in the same court of law at a later date.
An affidavit of probable cause and a judge’s order determining probable cause for both Lamberto Palomera Mora and Melecio Palomera Mora were filed in Lewis County Superior Court on Tuesday, but charges were not filed locally before the case was dismissed.
Lamberto Palomera Mora and Melecio Palomera Mora were arrested following a traffic stop conducted by JNET personnel on a 2008 Jeep Grand Cherokee on northbound Interstate 5 in Lewis County shortly before 9:30 p.m. on Monday, according to previous Chronicle reporting.
A K-9 alerted to the presence of narcotics in the vehicle during the traffic stop, according to court documents.
JNET personnel acquired a search warrant for the Jeep after a K-9 alerted to the presence of narcotics in the vehicle. Inside the vehicle, officers found 18 “brick style packages” of a substance that field-tested positive for cocaine, according to court documents.
The reason for the traffic stop was not disclosed in an affidavit of probable cause filed in Lewis County Superior Court on Tuesday.
“This appears to be part of a larger drug organization moving significant weight and value of drugs,” Deputy Prosecutor Scott Jackson said during a hearing for Lamberto Palomera Mora on Tuesday.
Melecio Palomera Mora was reportedly deported in 2014 and was convicted in 2018 for reentering the U.S. illegally, Jackson said Tuesday.
