Police lights activated on an Evansville Police Department vehicle.
Escondido, California – Federal agents arrested two San Diego County men earlier this month after a months-long investigation into what prosecutors say was a steady operation selling thousands of LSD tabs across the region. The charges cap nearly seven months of undercover work by the Drug Enforcement Administration — and reveal the kind of low-profile, highly mobile drug dealing that can thrive in suburban corridors.
Edward Kohda Rosa and Peter Tincknell were taken into custody on Nov. 13, according to a federal criminal complaint obtained by CBS 8. Investigators say the two men worked together to distribute large quantities of LSD, using restaurant meetups, personal vehicles and even a storage unit in San Marcos to move product.
The investigation began with a criminal informant who, in September, met Rosa at a restaurant in Escondido to purchase 1,000 tabs of LSD. Rosa, according to agents, hid the drugs inside a copy of The Art of War — a detail that struck investigators enough to include it in the complaint. It would be the first of two controlled buys.
The second transaction took place on Nov. 13. Agents watched as Rosa left his home on Medley Lane in Escondido with Tincknell in tow. The two drove to a storage facility in San Marcos, where agents observed what they believe was a handoff: Rosa walked out with a small item and placed it in his car, while Tincknell left the building carrying a black backpack.
Both men were arrested shortly afterward.
Inside Rosa’s Volvo, agents reported finding 2,000 LSD tabs — which Rosa allegedly planned to sell for $2,200 — along with drug testing strips, a digital scale, and other equipment associated with narcotics distribution. The complaint notes that Tincknell was on probation for a drug offense in Michigan at the time of his arrest, an added complication for prosecutors preparing the case.
Federal authorities say Rosa and Tincknell will face charges of manufacturing and selling narcotics, though the final charging documents have yet to be filed.
The case offers a glimpse into how the DEA builds narcotics investigations today: a combination of confidential sources, long stretches of surveillance, and carefully timed controlled buys. And it shows the persistence of LSD — a drug with deep roots in California — in contemporary drug markets that are otherwise dominated by synthetic opioids and methamphetamine.
