Hermiston man arrested after drug raid, traffic stop

Published 9:27 am Thursday, July 30, 2015

A felon with a history of arrests is behind bars Thursday following an early morning drug raid in Hermiston.

At about 5:30 a.m., the Oregon State Police SWAT team executed a search warrant for the Blue Mountain Enforcement Narcotics Team at 563 E. Hurlburt Ave., Hermiston, according to a press release from Hermiston Police Chief Jason Edmiston.

The 31-year-old occupant of the residence, Jose Edgar Salvador Cervantes, was not present when the warrant was executed, but he was located on a traffic stop at about 9 a.m.

Cervantes was charged with possession and delivery of methamphetamine, possession of oxycodone, felon in possession of a firearm and frequenting or maintaining a place where controlled substances are used. He was lodged at the Umatilla County Jail.

Edmiston said Cervantes has an extensive history with 14 arrests and 73 charges. He said he is hopeful the combination of “commercial quantities” of controlled substances and a firearm will lead to Cervantes’ incarceration.

“Mr. Cervantes is very well known to all law enforcement in Umatilla County,” Edmiston said. “He has a history of being involved in numerous investigations of extreme violence to include attempted murder.”

In 2007, Cervantes was charged with attempted murder and assault following a brawl in which he stabbed Hermiston man Kevin Verwey at an apartment complex on Dogwood Avenue in Hermiston. During the trial, Cervantes claimed he used his pocket knife in self defense, and the state argued he intended to kill Verwey. The jury convicted Cervantes of second-degree assault in a 10-2 vote but unanimously agreed he was innocent of attempted murder after a two-day trial.

The prosecuting attorney representing the state argued for a Measure 11 sentence of 70 months, but the Circuit Court judge downgraded the sentence to five years of probation and 180 hours of community service each of those years.