Three people are in jail today following their arrest Monday evening at the Sunset Motel on drug and child endangerment charges.
According to the Hermiston Police Department, around 5:30 p.m., officers had an arrest warrant for Tarra K. Johnson. After locating her in room 36 of the Sunset Motel, officers detected a “very strong odor of marijuana coming from the room.”
Inside the room, along with Johnson, were four small children and two adult males, Adam G. Saad, 21, a Hermiston transient, and Rodney B. Virgil, 51, 1145 Eighth Place, Hermiston. A search warrant was granted by the Umatilla County District Attorney’s office and the three were arrested.
Johnson, 24, of 225 N.W. 13th St., Apt. A, and Saad were charged with frequenting a place where controlled substances were used, four counts of endangering the welfare of a minor, and possession of less than an ounce of marijuana within 1,000 feet of a school.
Virgil faces the same charges, as well as possession of methamphetamine.
The three adults were processed at the Hermiston Police Department before being lodged at the Umatilla County Jail.
The Department of Human Services assisted with taking the children, whose ages range from newborn to 6 years old, into protective custody.
“Though the individual contacts this department has had with this trio have been minor, this is yet another example of poor decision making where children are negatively impacted,” said Hermiston Police Chief Jason Edmiston. “I would like to thank the Department of Human Services for continuing to be a resource for law enforcement.”
