ATWATER - Late Tuesday morning, Atwater Police Department officers served a narcotic trafficking search warrant in the 2800 block of Piro Ave in the City of Atwater. During the search, officers seized approximately 100 pills suspected to be the deadly drug Fentanyl, approx. Twenty-four grams of an unfinished substance suspected to be Fentanyl and seven pills believed to be Xanax.
Officers took Seth Ingalsbe, a white male adult, age 25, resident of Atwater into custody without incident. The suspect was booked into the Merced County Jail on two charges: possessing a controlled substance for sale and committing a criminal offense while out of custody on bail.
This arrest is the 5th arrest of this subject since August of 2022. Three of those arrests were for trafficking in Fentanyl. It was also the second arrest of this subject by Atwater PD in a 72-hour period. To protect the public, the Department requested and received a Bail Enhancement of $500,000.00
Chief Salvador stated, "Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is up to 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine. It is a major contributor to fatal and nonfatal overdoses in the U.S.. It is a serious problem in our community, and the Atwater Police Department will vigorously prosecute persons that criminally exploit, sell, and possess this drug.”
The investigation is ongoing, and the Atwater Police Department needs the public’s help gathering information about this case. If a member of the public has information or observed anything related to this case, please get in touch with the Atwater Police Department at 209-357-6384 and ask for Detective Sgt Brum or Officer Trevor Phillips.
