Half-pound of cocaine in minivan lands men in jail

Three men in a minivan that was pulled over in Port Washington last week face felony drug charges in Ozaukee County Circuit Court after more than a half-pound of cocaine was found in a secret compartment in the vehicle.

Alexis Peralta Martinez, 24, of Chicago; Roger Thundercloud, 25 of Bowler; and Moises Ochoa, 25, of Cicero, Ill.; are each charged with possession with intent to deliver cocaine.

Peralta Martinez, who is free in lieu of bail in three Shawano County cases, is also charged with maintaining a drug trafficking place and six counts of felony bail jumping. 

Ochoa is also charged with possession of marijuana.

During a Nov. 4 hearing, Ozaukee County Circuit Judge Sandy Williams set bail at $100,000 for Peralta Martinez, $75,000 for Thundercloud and $50,000 for Ochoa.

According to a criminal complaint, on Monday, Nov. 3, an Ozaukee County sheriff’s deputy pulled over a northbound minivan on I-43 on the north side of Port Washington because the vehicle’s registration was expired.

Ochoa, who was driving, said he, Peralta Martinez and Thundercloud were coming from Chicago. Peralta Martinez told the deputy he recently purchased the minivan from a relative of Thundercloud.

A Sheriff’s Office dog indicated there were drugs in the vehicle and the deputy found 10.5 grams of marijuana in the center console. Ochoa later said the marijuana belonged to him, the complaint states.

Another deputy then found a suspicious package wrapped in numerous bags in a modified compartment in the dashboard obscured by a piece of trim. The white, rock-like substance in the bags tested positive for cocaine and weighed 250.72 grams, according to the complaint.

The secret compartment had a hole in the bottom that led to another compartment where deputies found an unloaded magazine for an AR-15-style rifle.

One of the deputies noted that the secret compartments indicate the vehicle had been modified for drug trafficking, the complaint states.

The men were arrested, and while being booked at the county jail deputies found $853 in Thundercloud’s jacket.

Authorities then watched the video from the patrol vehicle where Peralta Martinez and Ochoa were seated during the search of the minivan and heard them discussing who was going to take responsibility for what deputies found in the vehicle.

Peralta Martinez said to Ochoa, “They’re going to find the kush (marijuana). You gonna take that?” according to the complaint.

Then, apparently referring to the cocaine in the minivan, Peralta Martinez told Ochoa, “You gonna have to take one for  the team. They may take all of us.”

When the men saw a deputy handcuff Thundercloud, Peralta Martinez said, “They found it,” the complaint states.

Peralta Martinez is awaiting trial on three cases in Shawano County charging him with substantial battery, second-offense operating while intoxicated, possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia and multiple counts of bail jumping. 

He was convicted of carrying a concealed weapon and possession of marijuana in Brown County last year. A charge of possession with intent to deliver cocaine was dismissed.

Because Peralta Martinez was previously convicted of a drug crime, he is charged in Ozaukee County as a repeat offender and would face enhanced penalties if convicted.

Possession with intent to deliver cocaine is punishable by a maximum 25 years in prison and 15 years of extended supervision.