The Hailey Police Department is investigating two cases of alleged methamphetamine use by adult males in the company of teenage girls who were truant from Wood River High School.
Three people have been arrested and police are trying to identify two other suspects.
Twenty-three-year-old Emilio Valencia, a Gannett area resident, was arrested Feb. 7 while parked in front of Urban Voodoo Tattoo on West Bullion Street in Hailey.
Police Chief Brian McNary said Valencia had four truant high school girls in his truck at the time, and the group was allegedly smoking or snorting methamphetamine.
He said Valencia was taken into custody and transported to the Blaine County Jail on suspicion of felony possession of methamphetamine and misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia. A 16-year-old girl was also arrested on a felony methamphetamine possession charge and transported to a juvenile detention facility in Twin Falls. He said the other three girls were detained for questioning but had not been charged as of Monday.
Hailey police were assisted in the bust by the Blaine County Sheriff's Office and Blaine County School District authorities.
In a separate case, Hailey police arrested 22-year-old Abraham Briones-Molina on Feb. 1 at his North River Street residence on suspicion of possession of drug paraphernalia and being an illegal immigrant.
McNary said police are trying to identify and locate two other men who were allegedly at the home earlier in the day and using methamphetamine with two other truant high school girls.
"We're just trying to identify the men so we can get the warrants issued," he said, adding that one of the men reportedly goes by the nickname of "Monkey."
McNary said Briones-Molina was not at the home when the girls were there and is not facing a charge of distribution of methamphetamine. He said the other two men apparently fled from the home after school district authorities visited the residence in search of the two girls prior to calling police.
