SEPTEMBER IS NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS MONTH: The County of Ventura is taking part in a nationwide coordinated effort to encourage individuals, families and organizations to take simple steps to prepare for emergencies in their homes, businesses and schools. September is National Preparedness Month and the County of Ventura will be joining a wide variety of national, state and local organizations, including the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, in educating the public about preparing for emergencies.

 

LINDERO CANYON ACCIDENT: A 46-year-old Oak Park resident was struck and killed by a car while she was jogging along Lindero Canyon Road early Tuesday morning. Karey Marsh was jogging in the bicycle lane on the southbound shoulder of Lindero Canyon Road near Bowfield Street, when a car driven by Nicholas Lagrotta, 23, of Camarillo left the roadway and collided with Marsh.

 

LAKE PIRU DROWNING UPDATE: On the evening of August 25th, Anatoly Smolyansky tragically disappeared under the water at Lake Piru after jumping into the lake to rescue his five-year-old daughter who had fallen overboard.  At the time of the accident, the boat was occupied by Mr. Smolyansky and his three children.  All of the children were brought ashore safely, but Mr. Smolyansky never resurfaced and is presumed to have drowned.

 

LAKE PIRU DROWNING: On August 25, 2008, at approximately 5:45 pm, Ventura County Sheriff’s Department deputies assigned to the Fillmore / Santa Clara Valley Station responded to Lake Piru after receiving a call that two people were possibly missing at the lake.

 

RESCUED HIKERS: On 8/25/08, at approximately 0815 hours, deputies from the Santa Clara Valley Station in Fillmore and a Sheriff’s Department helicopter responded to the Sespe Creek area north of Grand Avenue in Fillmore, reference three overdue hikers.

 

NEWBURY PARK ARRESTS: Two Newbury Park men were arrested recently for burglary after an extensive investigation by detectives and members of the Thousand Oaks Police Department Special Enforcement Unit revealed they were responsible for at least 50 thefts and burglaries from vehicles during a one-month crime spree this summer.

 

CAMARILLO BURLARY ARREST: On August 21, 2008, at about 10:30 a.m., Camarillo Deputies responded to the 1600 block of San Rafael to a residential burglary in progress. 

 

GANG UNIT SEARCH WARRANTS: The Sheriff’s Gang Unit served three search warrants, seized four firearms and arrested five individuals during several gang related investigations last week. 

 

MARIJUANA ERADICATION: On Wednesday, August 20, 2008, Sheriff’s Narcotics Investigators, in conjunction with the Sheriff’s Air Unit and the United States Forest Service, eradicated 5 large-scale marijuana cultivations in the Los Padres National Forest in Matilija Canyon, north of the city of Ojai. Approximately 11,000 marijuana plants were eradicated with a potential street value of over 22 million dollars. The plants from this grow were later destroyed.

 

LOTTO SCAM: Recently an old Lotto Scam was discovered in the unincorporated area of Ventura County. This particular case was initiated by a company calling itself “Pacific Healthcare, Inc.”.

Typically, in a scam of this nature, a fraudulent company will send a letter or an email to the potential victim telling the victim they won a lottery.

NARCOTICS SEARCH WARRANT / ARREST: On 8-19-2008, members of the Simi Valley Police Department’s Narcotic Unit along with the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department’s Narcotic Unit executed a search warrant at a residence in the 2200 block of Sequoia Avenue, Simi Valley. This search warrant was in response to citizens complaining of suspicious narcotic sales activity at the residence.

 

EXPLORER GRADUATION:   On August 15th 2008, we will be celebrating the graduation of 45 Explorers from the Ventura County Explorer Academy.  The explorers are from posts throughout the county.  The lead agency in this year’s academy was the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department.  The co-leading agency was the Simi Valley Police Department.

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE ARREST IN MOORPARK: On 08-09-2008, at about 7:35 p.m., Ventura County Sheriff’s deputies assigned to the Moorpark Police Department responded to the Walmart Store on Cochran Street in the City of Simi Valley regarding a report of a domestic violence incident that occurred earlier in the City of Moorpark.  The female victim reported that she had been hit in the face by her boyfriend and father of her child, Michael Esparza, while she was driving in the area of Spring Road and Tierra Rejada Road.

COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER PASSES EXAM: On August 6, 2008, after many months of preparation and studying, Assistant Communications Manager and County 9-1-1 Coordinator Erin Brockus passed the Emergency Number Professional (ENP) examination.

 

FILLMORE ARRESTS: Sheriff’s deputies arrested two male suspects of a local tagging crew and a female juvenile after a two-day crime spree in the city of Fillmore.  Tagging crews have recently expanded their crimes from typically spraying graffiti to firearm violations, drugs, burglaries and violence.

SHARROWS: The Thousand Oaks Police Department’s Traffic Bureau and Bike Patrol Team are announcing the addition of new street markings, “sharrows,” on city streets. This bicycle with chevrons symbol will be placed on selected roadways where there are no designated/marked bicycle lanes. The markings are to improve awareness for both automobile drivers and bicyclists to share lanes on the roadway.

OPERATION CHILL: The Thousand Oaks Police Department, in conjunction with 7-Eleven, is teaming up to reward kids for doing good deeds in the community. Deputies are rewarding children with coupons for free Slurpees who do something helpful, practice safety, or deter crime in the community. Youngsters recognized by the police will receive coupons good for a 12-oz. Slurpee that can be redeemed at all Thousand Oaks 7-Eleven stores and other participating stores in Southern California. The program is designed for the summer and back to school months to promote good citizenship.

Stabbing Suspect Turns Self In: On Sunday August 12, 2007, Elias Castaneda and the victim were involved in a verbal domestic incident in the City of Ventura. Later that evening, Castaneda went to the victim’s residence in Saticoy and stabbed her three times in the upper torso and once in the left hand.

Narcotics / Firearms Arrest: Detectives from the Ventura County Sheriff’s Narcotics Unit concluded a several month narcotics investigation that resulted in the arrest of Dustin Beverford for selling methamphetamine and illegal firearms.

Deputy Delivers Baby: On Wednesday August 30, 2006 , at 11:38 A.M. , deputies from the Moorpark Police Department received an emergency call of a female, Marybeth Watkins, who was in labor at a residence in the Woodcreek Apartments.

Narcotics Arrest: Narcotics detectives from the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department recovered approximately ¼ pound of crystal methamphetamine, several handguns and almost $14,000.00 in U.S. currency from the home of a Ventura resident during a probation search.

Rescued Hiker: On 8/20/06 , at approximately 1655 hours, a white Chevrolet truck driven by Rodolfo Ramirez made a left turn from eastbound Ventura Street to northbound ‘C’ Street. Mr. Ramirez failed to yield to a motorcycle driven by Roger Cooper who was in the number 2 lane of westbound Ventura Street crossing the intersection at ‘C’ Street at the same time.

Rescued Hiker: The Ventura County Sheriff’s Departments rescue helicopter, Air Squad 9, was dispatched to a reported lost hiker in the Santa Monica Mountain Range. The hiker, Sears, told 911 operators that he was on the La Jolla loop trail above Thornehill Broome beach and was uninjured, but unable to locate his way back to the main trail.

Gang Enfocement Update: In an effort to provide the Citizens of Fillmore and surrounding areas information on gang enforcement efforts by the Fillmore Police Department and Ventura County Sheriff’s Department, I plan on providing a weekly recap of our enforcement efforts.

Child Molest: Sheriff’s Major Crimes Detectives arrested William Bronzan for one felony count of child molest. The arrest came after a report was made that Mr. Bronzan had committed an undisclosed lewd act upon a child. He was booked at the Pre-Trial Detention Facility and is being held in lieu of $500,000 bail. The investigation is continuing and detectives are seeking help from the public. Anyone with information regarding Mr. Bronzan’s possible illegal activities is encouraged to contacted detectives at (805) 477-7000.

Explorer Academy Graduation: The Explorer academy of 2006 is scheduled to graduate 39 newly trained Law Enforcement Explorers on August 18, 2006 . These young adults from throughout the county, who range in age from 14 to 20 years old, have volunteered their time to participate in the 120- hour academy.

First Six Months of 2005 Crime Stats: The Ventura County Sheriff’s Department’s Part I crime statistics from the first six months of 2006 are now available.

Click here to go to Crime Stats

Sheriff Bob Brooks is selected to attend Naval Postgraduate School's Center for Homeland Defense and Security (CHDS) Master's Degree program