A member of the gang “Surenos” was arrested as part of a multi-agency investigation dubbed Operation Bear Trap.
Jose Medina was the third arrest of a Sureno gang member in South Lake Tahoe. To date, Operation Bear Trap has resulted in 76 arrests.
The South Lake Tahoe Police Department, El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office, El Dorado DA’s Office, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Douglas County Sheriff’s Office and the Carson City Sheriff’s Office have been working together to target narcotics and illegal firearms sales in the Tahoe Basin.
Medina, a known Surenos gang member according to a release from the City of South Lake Tahoe, was identified in the course of the investigation.
During the investigation, Medina illegally sold investigators narcotics, firearms and illegal parts which convert a semi-auto firearm into an illegal fully automatic firearm.
Medina is a convicted felon, prohibited from possessing firearms and ammunition and is on active probation through El Dorado County for being a prohibited person in possession of firearms.
During a search of his residence, the following items were recovered: cocaine packaged for sales, an illegal short-barreled AR-15 style rifle, a Glock handgun with an illegal 30 round magazine and illegal parts to convert a semi-automatic firearm into a fully automatic firearm.
Medina is currently being held without bail at the El Dorado County Jail on charges including prohibited person in possession of a firearm, prohibited person in possession of ammunition, sales of cocaine, sales of methamphetamine, possession and transport of machine guns and sales of machine gun.
All of the crimes he is charged with are felonies.
