Costa Mesa man pleads not guilty to possession of narcotics, firearms

A Costa Mesa man pleaded not guilty on Monday at the Central Justice Center in Santa Ana to charges involving firearms and narcotics for sale.

Jesse Jeffrey Chambers, 42, is charged with three felony counts of possession of a controlled substance with intent to sell, one felony count for possession of a firearm by a felon, one felony count of a prohibited person owning ammunition, one felony count of possession of a controlled substance while armed with a firearm, and two misdemeanor charges for possession of a controlled substance and manufacture, sale or possession of a large-capacity magazine.

Fountain Valley police arrested Chambers on July 7 on an outstanding warrant for his arrest. He was allegedly involved with large-scale narcotics trafficking through Orange County.

Officers in the department’s crime suppression unit obtained a search warrant for both Chambers’ vehicle and his residence. In the latter, police reportedly found a loaded shotgun, two loaded Glock 19 style “ghost guns,” a loaded unregistered Glock 26 handgun and a loaded high-capacity magazine.

In addition, police said they found 1.5 pounds of fentanyl, 1.5 pounds of methamphetamine, 200 Oxycodone pills, 9 grams of heroin, an operational pill press and about $8,400. The department estimates the street value of those narcotics at $132 million.

Chambers is a convicted felon. Court records indicate he faced similar charges in 2019 when he pleaded guilty to charges of possession with the intent to sell and possession of drug-related paraphernalia that date back to 2018. He was last in court as recently as last October for a misdemeanor charge of possession, manufacture or sale of a deadly weapon — a leaded cane.

Chambers remains in custody on bail of $100,000, according to jail records. He is next expected to appear in court at the West Justice Center in Westminster on July 19 for a pretrial settlement conference and a hearing bail review.

Support our coverage by becoming a digital subscriber.