CAMARILLO MAN, 4 OTHERS ARRESTED IN COCAINE CRACKDOWN AT RESIDENCE.

Byline: Teresa Jimenez Daily News Staff Writer

A man suspected of dealing drugs throughout the region was arrested Tuesday evening after selling cocaine to an undercover officer, the Ventura County Sheriff's Department reported.

Carlos Phillip Lopez, 33, of Camarillo was arrested at his home on suspicion of selling cocaine and possession for sale of cocaine and was being held at the Main Jail in Ventura in lieu of $20,000 bail, authorities said.

Investigators also arrested four other men - three from the Conejo Valley - who police said were at the house when investigators arrived.

A tip from someone outside the neighborhood that drugs were being sold by Lopez on the 100 block of Mobil Avenue in Camarillo started a three-month investigation that led to the arrests, said sheriff's Sgt. Curt Rothschiller. Authorities said Lopez was selling drugs to adults and juveniles.

``He was selling on the street level to a lot of people in that area and obviously outside the area,'' Rothschiller said.

After Lopez sold cocaine to an undercover officer, investigators obtained a search warrant and arrested him, Rothschiller said.

Investigators also found marijuana during the search, but Lopez has not been charged with possession of the drug, Rothschiller said. No other drugs were found in the house, he said.

Frank Medina Morales, 29, of Oxnard and Dean Anthony Birdsong, 28, of Thousand Oaks were arrested at the house on suspicion of being under the influence of a controlled substance, authorities said. They were released on $5,000 bail.

Steven Andrew Schmidt, 29, of Thousand Oaks and Daniel Wittman III, 33, of Newbury Park were arrested on suspicion of soliciting the sale of a controlled substance after arriving at the residence, authorities said. They were released on $5,000 bail. Rothschiller said the men arrested at the home appeared to be middle-class people who drove into the area specifically to buy drugs from Lopez.