Couple Indicted in Cocaine Case After Arrest in Hotel Parking Lot

An El Cajon couple were indicted this week by the Ventura County grand jury on suspicion of possessing, transporting and attempting to sell cocaine.

Greg and Donna Baty were arrested Sept. 16 in the parking lot of the Westlake Plaza Hotel after allegedly trying to sell a half-kilo of cocaine to an undercover detective, according to Deputy Dist. Atty. Nancy Ayers. The detective had arranged to pay about $8,000 for the illegal narcotics, she said.

Greg Baty pleaded not guilty at his arraignment Thursday. He was not allowed to post bail because he is an illegal alien, a Sheriff’s Department official said. He is in Sheriff’s Department custody.

Donna Baty failed to show up for arraignment Thursday, and a warrant for her arrest was prepared to be issued.

The undercover detective had been introduced to the couple by an informant and negotiated to make the drug transaction after several telephone calls with the couple over several weeks, Ayers said.

A jury trial for Greg Baty is scheduled for Nov. 12.