Source: Fresno Bee, The Contact: http://www.fresnobee.com/ Pubdate: Thu, 27 Aug 1998 FOUR WON'T FACE DRUG CHARGES Prosecutors dropped charges Wednesday against four of seven people arrested in one of Fresno County's largest drug busts, saying fingerprint evidence against them was weak. "The district attorney did the right thing by dismissing it instead of wasting time with a preliminary hearing," said defense lawyer Eric Green, who represented one of the group arrested Aug. 8 in connection with the seizure of 26 pounds of cocaine. Though prosecutors said the four lived at the home where the cocaine was found, Green said they had no involvement with the drugs. The decision not to prosecute "saved the taxpayers a couple of bucks," Green said. A preliminary hearing had been scheduled Wednesday for the four - Aurelio Felix, 22; Geronimo Quintero Vega, 23; Graciela Ramirez Ybarra, 23; and Martin Beltran Quintero, 33. But the hearing, which would have determined whether there was enough evidence to hold a trial, was canceled after the charges were dropped. Assistant District Attorney Bob Freed said fingerprint evidence collected from the home where the cocaine was found did not link the four to the drugs. A preliminary hearing for the remaining defendants - Maria Felix, 33; Cruz Lopez Felix, 27, and Juan Manuel Lopez, 39 - was reset for Sept. 10. All have pleaded innocent. The group was arrested by Fresno police at a home in the 1200 block of West Lansing Way. That bust has been tied to the seizure a day earlier of 13 pounds of cocaine and $1.1 million in cash in northeast Fresno. Thirty-year-old Victor L. Brown, who has been described by authorities as one of Fresno's largest drug dealers, is being prosecuted in federal court on charges stemming from the 13 pounds. Fresno police have said in court papers that Brown has admitted that he was involved in a cocaine operation that handled as much as 220 pounds of cocaine at a time. Police said he tipped investigators to the cocaine at the Lansing Way home, though his lawyer, Robert Wynne, said he did not. - --- Checked-by: Joel W. Johnson