March 28, 2026 – Riverside County Sheriff’s Office officials report that in November 2024, the Riverside Sheriff’s Corrections Investigation Bureau began an investigation into members of the public working with inmates to smuggle narcotics into the Cois Byrd Detention Center via the United States Postal Service. The investigation led to the identification of the suspects who were involved in the narcotics smuggling.

On Friday, March 27, 2026, with the assistance of the Gang Intelligence Unit, the Riverside Sheriff’s Alternative Sentencing Program, Corrections K-9 Team, Hemet Gang Taskforce, and members of the Riverside County PACT Team, search warrants were served in the 3000 block of Getty Court, Hemet, and in the 4000 block of Winterberry Street, Murrieta.

The suspects involved with sending the narcotics were identified as Carley Crofts, a 29-year-old resident of Hemet, and Miguel Armenta, a 49-year-old resident of Murrieta. The inmates receiving the narcotics were identified as Saul Arevalo, a 42-year-old resident of Bloomington, and Daniel Morales, a 32-year-old resident of Cathedral City.

During the service of the search warrants, Crofts and Armenta were arrested without incident and later booked into the Cois Byrd Detention Center for smuggling narcotics into the jail. Investigators also seized evidence related to the jail narcotics-smuggling investigation.

This investigation will be submitted to the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office for prosecution of smuggling narcotics into a jail and conspiracy. This is an ongoing investigation, and no further details are available at this time.

This investigation was part of the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office’s ongoing mission to prevent narcotics from entering our correctional facilities. The diligence of our deputies during searches, implementation of “Jailhouse Mail,” and the nonintrusive sensor and scanning device known as the “OD Security Soter RS,” and comprehensive criminal investigations such as this are among several measures the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office has taken to combat the supply of narcotics into our jail system. Inmate education is a priority within our jails, and inmates are furnished with educational material and classes about the dangers of narcotics, with an emphasis on fentanyl, provided by the Detention Health Services Division of the Riverside University Health System.

This investigation remains ongoing. Anyone with information related to this investigation is encouraged to contact Investigator Brett Devine at 951-955-7019 or Correctional Deputy Gerald Dye at 951-696-3487.

Reporting Officer: Sergeant Christopher Wedel

File: SC243300002

Source: Riverside County Sheriff’s Office