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A Ventura couple has been arrested after drugs allegedly for sale were found in their son’s room, police said Thursday.

An investigation began last month, when investigators with the Ventura County Fentanyl and Overdose Crimes Units received information about a person who was selling controlled substances.

Patrick Caleb Owens, 40, was eventually identified as a suspect. On Wednesday, authorities stopped his vehicle while he was leaving the Pierpont neighborhood of Ventura with his 4-year-old son.

Police searched Owens’ vehicle and found “a small amount of concentrated cannabis and THC edibles,” authorities detailed in a news release.

Drugs and other items seized during an investigation are seen in a photo released by the Ventura County Sheriff's Office on Aug. 3, 2023.
Drugs and other items seized during an investigation are seen in a photo released by the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office on Aug. 3, 2023.

A subsequent search of the suspect’s home yielded about 98 pounds of processed marijuana, 30 pounds of concentrated cannabis, 9 pounds of psilocybin mushrooms, 32 ounces of GHB, 32 ounces of cannabis syrup, 2 pounds of amphetamine pills, 1 pound of ecstasy pills, 11 ounces of cocaine, 300 THC vape cartridges and gummies, all of which have an estimated street value totaling more than $434,000.

Investigators also seized a shotgun, and more than $88,000 in cash.

Authorities allege that a “large portion” of the “dangerous drugs” were found in a closet attached to the boy’s room.

Owens was arrested and booked on suspicion of several California Health and Safety Code sections covering possession of controlled substances for sale as well as child endangerment, officials said.

Lauren Elizabeth Taulbee, the boy’s mother, responded to the scene of the traffic stop and was also arrested and booked on the same counts.

The boy was taken into Ventura County Child Protective Services’ custody, officials said.