Ventura County – The normally tranquil streets of Thousand Oaks, recently afflicted by increased street gang activity, erupted into violence just after noon on August 22nd when Omar Simental, a 24-year-old Newbury Park resident, and a male juvenile companion were enjoying the fresh air outside their Warwick Avenue apartment complex.

It was at that time when Simental and his friend, according to Ventura County Sheriff’s Department spokesman Sgt. Dan Hawes, “were confronted by a group of male suspects,” who were not, apparently asking for directions to the local youth center. The conversation among the young men quickly escalated into a physical confrontation which left Simental and his companion lying on the sidewalk, battered and bruised.

When law enforcement arrived on the scene, Simental was himself identified as an active member of a street gang, as were the assailants subsequently identified by police.

It was only two days later, in the evening of August 24th that Cesar Corrales, a 20-year-old from Thousand Oaks, and a 15-year-old male juvenile were contacted by police for questioning about their involvement in the fight. It was soon determined that Corrales had displayed a handgun at some point during the fight, and that Luis Navarro, 18, was also involved in the attack upon Simental. Corrales was arrested at that time and transported to Ventura County Jail, were he was booked on charges of assault with a deadly weapon, disturbing the peace by fighting, drawing or exhibiting a firearm, and street terrorism, with his bail set at $100,000.

For his part, the 15-year-old juvenile was transported to Ventura County Juvenile Justice Facility and booked on charges of assault with a deadly weapon, disturbing the peace by fighting, and street terrorism.

But the law enforcement wasn’t done. As detailed by Hawes, on August 28th, VCSD Special Enforcement Unit detectives contacted and arrested Luis Navarro. He was transported on that date to Ventura County Jail, where he was charged with the same crimes as Corrales and remains in custody on $100,000 bail.

An arrest was made last Friday, August 28, in Madera of a suspected member of one of the Hispanic gangs operating in the San Joaquin Valley. According to the official media report released by the Madera Department of Corrections,Andrew Diaz, 27, was apprehended for two counts of criminal street gang activity and one count of felony possession of a firearm by a prohibited felon. Records show that Diaz had been arrested in 2012 for street terrorism and possession of stolen property.

Prior to that, in 2006, when he was 18, he was arrested for exhibiting a deadly weapon and a firearm, participation in a street gang, and criminal conspiracy. In 2007 he was charged with carrying a loaded and concealed weapon, promoting a street gang, resisting arrest and violating probation.

According to the booking records, Diaz lives in north Madera, near James Monroe Elementary School, and works in Fresno for a hydrotechnology company.

He was booked and held without bail at the Madera County Jail pending his next court date.

WEST SACRAMENTO—Michael Anthony Reyes, a member of the “Broderick Boys” gang, was sentenced on Wednesday, September 2 to life, plus an additional 28 years, for the attempted murder of a former gang member last November in West Sacramento. He is now 25 years old.

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Liberty Landowski and Lisa Humble in an image from Facebook.

On Monday, August 31, Yolo Superior Court Judge Paul K. Richardson also sentenced co-defendants and accessories Lisa Humble, 22, to three years and four months in state prison; and Liberty Landowski, 21, to probation with a five-year suspended state prison sentence.

On November 18, 2014, at approximately 8:00 a.m., two victims were riding bicycles in West Sacramento near the corners of Sycamore Avenue and Proctor and Evergreen Avenues when Reyes confronted one of them. The area is near Westacre Park and Yolo High School.

Authorities said one of the victims—a former gang member named Ernie Sotelo—had previously sold drugs in the Broderick Boys area, and had been involved in a dispute with Reyes’ stepfather,

Following the confrontation, Reyes shot a total of six times as they rode away. The victim was struck by three bullets. One struck him in the mid back, while the other bullet cut through his aorta. The third bullet lodged in a lung. He was rushed to UC Davis Medical Center, and survived the nearly fatal wounds. His wife, who was on the other bicycle, escaped without injury.

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Lisa Humble and Eric Lovett, image Facebook

Accomplice Landowski had been driving Reyes in her white Mustang convertible when the shooting occurred, but then fled following the shooting. According to authorities, she switched cars and hid the Mustang. Humble and her boyfriend, Eric Lovett were also reportedly in the car.

Phone calls at the jail after both Humble and Landowski were apprehended showed they had been working to conceal the Mustang after their arrest. It has still not been found.

During the trial, witnesses testified that the accomplices had emailed Reyes audio recordings of police scanner information following the shooting. They also rented a Sacramento motel room to conceal Reyes’ whereabouts, while Humble kept the gun—a black .22 automatic pistol—used in the shooting.

Eric Lovett is still awaiting trial, as his case was separated from the other three. He has pleaded not guilty to the accessory charges.

Read More: Davis Vanguard – Davis Vanguard – Davis Enterprise

Ventura County – When you have a hankering for a grilled chicken-and-bean burrito that leads you to your neighborhood fast food emporium in broad daylight, you don’t expect to become witness to a violent fight that leads to the death of a 16-year-old high school football player. But that is apparently what took place at 5:00 p.m. on Monday, August 31st in the parking lot of a Camarillo Taco Bell.

According to Ventura County Sheriff’s Department spokesman Capt. John Reilly, a 911 Emergency call reporting a violent altercation among several male individuals brought deputies to the Flynn Road restaurant location. As law enforcement arrived on the scene, “both groups of males dispersed”, including a 16-year-old male suffering from stab wounds.

Deputies subsequently learned that the stabbing victim had been “driven to a local hospital,” where he was listed in serious condition. An investigation into the incident immediately ensued, including a community outreach by law enforcement via a video interview posted on Dropbox.

As the investigation progressed, on September 1, the stabbing victim “died at the Ventura County Medical Center as a result of the injuries he received during the altercation,” and the VCSD Major Crimes and Camarillo Special Enforcement Unit continued to work the case. The product of that work led to the identification of Tyler James Ostertag, a 20-year-old from Camarillo.

Ostertag was soon thereafter located “at a motel in Riverside,” where he was contacted and arrested. He was then transported to Ventura County Jail where he was booked on a charge of murder, with his bail set at $1,000,000.

Photo: Courtesy Ventura County Jail Booking

FRESNO – A bank manager and her boyfriend were arrested on Wednesday for allegedly running a scheme that defrauded a Fresno Bank of America of more than $600,000, according to U.S. Attorney Benjamin Wagner.

Sylvia Ochoa, 33, of Orange Cove, was the branch manager of the Bank of America on East Tulare Street. For seven months in 2013, Ochoa and her boyfriend Shanne Leavell, 23, also of Orange Cove, conspired to defraud the bank, according to court documents.

Ochoa allegedly did not let other bank employees count the cash in the vault, despite the bank’s policy requiring them to do so. Ochoa then went into the vault after hours and took money for personal use, the court documents say.

Ochoa also allegedly made fraudulent credits and transfers into her own accounts and into two accounts she opened in the name of Leavell. The couple used the stolen money to purchase a truck and expensive handbags, and also gambled with the money at casinos, authorities said.

Ochoa is charged with conspiracy to commit bank fraud, bank fraud and embezzlement by a bank manager. Leavell is charged with conspiracy to commit bank fraud and bank fraud. They face a 30-year sentence and a $1 million fine.

SAN JOSE – A third man has been arrested by San Jose Police just days after officers shot and killed two homicide suspects. Three men were seen on video entering a business located on the 1800 block of Lundy Ave, in San Jose. With few initial clues into the identity of the third suspect, investigating SJPD Officers were finally able to identify, locate, and arrest 42-year-old Duane Aguero.

According to SJPD Sergeant Enrique Garcia, “On August 27, 2015, Suspect #3 (was) arrested in San Jose and booked into the Santa Clara County Jail for Murder.” Garcia said, “Two of the three suspects involved in this homicide were later involved in two separate officer involved shootings and are now deceased.” Matthew Castillo and Richard Jacquez had both been killed in separate confrontations with police following the murder.

Video of the horrific event shows how the three men entered a business office before they ruthlessly gunned down 38-year-old Christopher Maxwell Wrenn, who was leasing office space at the building located at 1885 Lundy Avenue when he was attacked by the men. Through the press, police urged the third suspect to surrender.

View video here: You Tube – Surveillance Camera Video of Homicide Suspects

Wrenn’s shooting death was the city’s 19th homicide of the year.

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The San Jose Police Department is also releasing information of the arrest of another suspect in the stabbing death of 45-year-old Gilbert Reyes after family members called police reporting that he had been shot outside of a family home after attending a party there.

According to police, on Monday, August 24 at approximately 11:56 a.m., family members called San Jose Police to report their 45- year-old brother deceased at a residence on the 400 block of Jackie Drive. SJPD Officers arrived on scene and found Reyes deceased inside the residence.

Based upon the observations at the scene and witness statements, San Jose Police Homicide Unit was notified and responded to conduct a preliminary investigation. The cause of death was unknown at the time. The Santa Clara County Medical Examiner took custody of the body.

An autopsy was completed on August 26. The results revealed the victim suffered at least one stab wound. The Medical Examiner could not rule out homicide, therefore this suspicious death is being classified as a homicide.

As a result of the investigation, two known suspects, 42-year-old Thomas Triplett and 41-year-old Michael Anthony Gonzalez, both of Santa Clara, have been arrested on Monday, August 31 on suspicion of murder in Reyes’ death.

Reyes’s stabbing death was the city’s 20th homicide of the year.

Read More: CrimeVoice

BAKERSFIELD — A father and his teenage son were arrested on Monday in connection with a series of burglaries, robberies and vandalism in southwest Bakersfield.

Victorio Marquez, 31, was booked into the Kern County Jail on two counts of robbery, two counts of grand theft, two counts of attempted grand theft, two counts of burglary, three counts of felony malicious mischief, four counts of child endangerment and two counts of conspiracy.

His 13-year-old boy was booked into the Kern County Juvenile Hall for robbery.

According to the Bakersfield Police Department, the pair are suspected in a series of crimes dating back to July of this year, in which Marquez and his son are suspected of forcing their way into several ATM’s at various locations in southwest Bakersfield, including trying to break into an ATM at the AM/PM Mini-Mart on Wible Road early last weekend.

Both suspect were found and taken into custody at the Vagabond Inn on Colony Street in the early morning hours of Aug. 31.

On Tuesday, September 2, Fairfield Police arrested Sean Anthony Wright, 35, for attempted murder, according to a Press Release.

On Sunday, August 30, at 11:30 in the morning, Fairfield Police Officers responded to an assault call in the 2100 Block of Cadenasso Drive, near the Home Depot, Target, and 99 Cents Only stores. They located the victim, a 44 year old Fairfield resident, with a large cut on his back. The victim had been struck with a hatchet.

The suspect was gone but was later identified as 35-year-old Fairfield resident Sean Anthony Wright. The following day, a warrant was issued for Wright’s arrest. On Tuesday, September 2, Officer Jerriod Mack spotted Wright near the intersection of Travis Boulevard and Second Street.  Officer Mack arrested Wright for the warrant and booked him into Solano County Jail.

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Tehama County booking photo of Sean a Wright

Sean Wright has a history of arrests over the past two years for both domestic violence and drug related offenses. In November of 2013 he was booked in Solano County for violating a domestic relations court order. In June, July and September of 2014 he was arrested for possession and being under the influence of a controlled substance, along with probation violations and a failure to appear in court charge.

In February of this year, he was arrested on outstanding warrants for battery and inflicting corporal injury on a spouse, co-habitant or former spouse, along with possession and being under the influence of a controlled substance. In March he was charged with exhibiting a deadly weapon other than a firearm. Then in May he was in Red Bluff at St Elizabeth’s Hospital when he was again picked up by the Tehama County Sheriff’s Department on a warrant for his domestic violence charges, his drug charges, and arrested for vandalism of over $5,000 in damage.

An example of the significant improvement that the airship tracking method has had in arresting criminals was on display this past week in Santa Ana.

On Monday, August 31, a resident noticed a suspicious male knock on his neighbor’s door on the 3000 block of South Griset Place. A few moments later, after receiving no answer, the man went around to the neighbor’s side yard, to the end of the residence, and then disappeared from view.

Responding officers requested the Orange County’s Airship “Duke”- the Sheriff’s Department helicopter – to help track the suspect. Witnesses provided deputies with a description of the suspect, and he was located in the yard of the residence by Duke, near where two window screens had been removed. The suspect noticed the aircraft and fled the residence almost instantly. A car parked nearby, with a driver already in it, took off with the suspect inside

The department’s helicopter, named “Duke”, is equipped with high tech HD infrared and video cameras, moving maps, DVD recorders, and high powered lighting equipment, and is used to support ground officers with valuable tactical information.

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Screen shot from video of Duke’s pursuit

The vehicle drove off as Duke continued to follow the two suspects. The male suspect soon exited the car and started running toward an apartment complex on the northeast corner of Fairview and Segerstrom. The video shows him running all over the place in an attempt to lose Duke. Soon after the chase, deputies surrounded the area and apprehended the suspect, who fought off his arrest. Police then tasered him and took him into custody.

The suspect was identified as Stephone Jawonn Fellows, 27, and his counterpart driving the vehicle was identified as Bianca Renee McNair, 25.

After further investigation, it was determined that the male suspect had forced his way into the garage of the residence, but apparently the Duke Aircraft came just in time to interrupt the crime.

Fellows was charged with burglary, conspiracy to commit  a crime, and resisting a peace officer. McNair was charged with burglary and conspiracy to commit a crime. No further information has been released.

View the”Duke” Aircraft chase footage: Santa Ana “Duke” Aircraft Chase Footage

On Tuesday, September 1st, Los Angeles Police, along with the Human Trafficking Task Force, Long Beach PD’s Human Trafficking Unit, and the LAPD Vice Unit, charged 40-year-old Los Angeles suspect Raylonzo Roberts with a total of 14 felony counts related to commercial sex trafficking.

According to the report, six of Roberts’ counts were from sex trafficking of teenage girls as young as 13-years-old, two counts of pandering a minor for sex, two counts of aggravated sexual assault in a child, three counts of lewd acts on a child, and one count of assault with a firearm. He was found to have engaged in sexually trafficking eight girls from August of 2011 until July of 2015.

Investigators also determined that of the eight girls Roberts was trafficking or sexually assaulting, he also physically assaulted two of them. One girl was assaulted because she was not making enough money, and another because she left Roberts to go work for another pimp. He was also charged with assault with a firearm on a ninth victim, a 23-year-old female, on March 23, 2015.

Roberts pleaded not guilty to the court and is scheduled to have another hearing on September 14, where it will be determined if there is enough evidence to have him stand trial. He faces life in prison if found guilty.

The case is still under investigation and detectives believe that there still may be additional victims.

Anyone with information regarding these crimes is encouraged to contact LAPD’s Operations South Bureau Human Trafficking Task Force at (213) 926-3963.

Roberts’ history of arrests include a charge in December of 2013 for shooting at an inhabited dwelling or vehicle. In January of 2014 he was arrested by the Los Angeles Police for soliciting prostitution.

Ventura County – As if the interdiction of illegal drugs wasn’t keeping law enforcement busy enough, since the middle of August Ventura County Sheriff’s Department Interagency Pharmaceutical Crimes Unit, comprised of detectives from the VCSD, Simi Valley Police Department, Thousand Oaks Police Department, the District Attorney’s Office Bureau of Investigation, the California Highway Patrol, and the Health Quality Investigation Unit of the California Division of Investigation (whew!) has been busy investigating reports of what VCSD spokesman Sgt. Victor Fazio described to the media as “criminal activity” at a Newbury Park pharmacy.

The product of that joint task force investigation established evidence sufficient to identify Michael Shapiro, a resident of Los Angeles, as having made multiple attempts to fill “a forged prescription” for a number of controlled medical substances. Two weeks of investigation indicated that Shapiro had presented no less than 160 forged prescription documents over the preceding year for a wide range of drugs including hydrocodone, Xanax, Ritalin, and Ambien, none of which are legally purchased without being prescribed by a licensed medical professional.

With their suspicions into Shapiro’s activities mounting daily, on August 27th detectives served search warrants on two separate Los Angeles County homes where Shapiro had been reportedly residing. Those searches unearthed “hundreds of blank and pre-filled out fraudulent prescriptions” along with a cache of illegally acquired prescription medications. According to Fazio, “Shapiro had extensive knowledge regarding prescription drugs” as a graduate of Yale Medical School, although he had never been licensed to practice medicine.

In spite of his academic reputation and apparent skill as a forger, Shapiro was transported to Ventura County Jail where he was booked on charges of prescription forgery and commercial burglary.

Photo: Courtesy Ventura County Jail Booking

37-year-old Jose Monroy Eduardo Garcia was arrested on the night of Tuesday, August 4, for PC 422, threats to willingly commit a crime resulting in death or great injury. Garcia is also being charged with PC 425(a)(4), assault by means of force, PC 136.1(b)(1), attempting to dissuade a victim from reporting the crime, and PC 242-243.4(e)(1) battery on a spouse, former spouse or co-habitant.

In most domestic battery assaults, the victim is assaulted by an ex-boyfriend, girlfriend or spouse when the relationship has soured after emotional or physical altercations occurred, causing them to break-up.

On the night of August 4, fearing for her safety, a female victim called 9-1-1 Dispatch to try to report a sexual assault that had just occurred between her and the suspect Garcia. However, Garcia took the phone when she had tried to dial and hung it up.

After she fought Garcia off, he finally gave up and left the residence. The victim was then able to call the SJPD to report the incident. She reported that he had been threatening to physically hurt her if she were to call the police to report what had just occurred. At the same time he had physically grabbed her breasts and upper torso while trying to remove her shirt.

According to court documents, the victim was previously involved in an intimate relationship with Garcia. However during the violent confrontation with the suspect, he had asked if she had been with another man, and then began to choke her. After a few seconds Garcia then let go by pushing his hand into her face. The victim, not wanting his advance, bit his lip and scratched his face in an attempt to try to get away. Garcia calmed down and left the residence. This allowed the female victim to call for help. Fearing for her safety, she requested an emergency stay-away order be issued against the suspect.

SJPD Officers were able to locate Garcia at his residence in East San Jose. It appeared that had been drinking heavily and was drunk at the time of his arrest. An Emergency Protective Release Order was issued against Garcia. He was told not to have any contact with the female victim or he would face additional charges and re-arrest.

The next court date has been scheduled for October 27, 2015 at 9:00 AM in Dept 44 in front of the Honorable Sunil R. Kulkarni.

SACRAMENTO—A state sting resulted in citations for 11 men last week in Natomas who allegedly were contracting without a license.

Investigators posed as homeowners seeking bids for fencing, painting and tankless water heater installations in an undercover sting by the Contractors State License Board. Assisted by the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office, 11 misdemeanor illegal contracting citations were issued on August 27 and 28.

The sting was conducted at a single-family residence in Natomas where unlicensed workers were contacted through online ads, newspaper ads and pamphlets.

The bids in the stings averaged $2,300. In California, any project of $500 or more in labor and materials must be performed by state licensed contractor

Two men cited in the sting were previous offenders. One had been caught in an El Dorado County sting in 2011. At that time he was fined and given probation. The other man was on probation for a 2014 unlicensed contracting conviction.

All the suspects were issued notices to appear in court for contracting without a license.

On Thursday, August 27th, Solano County Sheriff’s Deputies, along with Dixon Police Officers, contacted 27-year-old Frank Dea Bauman of Dixon during a high risk vehicle stop, according to a Press Release.

Dixon PD arrested Bauman in connection with an assault with a firearm that occurred in their city earlier that morning. Bauman was also booked on a warrant that Sheriff’s Detectives obtained following a several month long investigation. He was suspected of firing a gun at two people on the 700 block of North Adams Street at 4:20 am Thursday.

Sheriff’s Deputies were able to link Bauman to the following incidents:
3/21/15: A stolen tractor from the 9000 block of Sparling Lane, Dixon
5/19/15: A stolen motorcycle from the 200 block of E. Walnut, Dixon
6/02/15: A stolen ATV from the 7500 block of Serpa Lane, Dixon
6/05/15: A stolen ATV from the 7700 block of North Meridian Road, Vacaville
6/06/15: A burglary and stolen ATV from the 8000 block of Runge Road, Dixon
6/11/15: A stolen dirt bike from the 8000 block of Bulkley Road, Dixon
8/21/15: A stolen vehicle from the 8000 block of Bulkely Road, Dixon
07/22/2015: An assault that occurred in the 7900 block of Schroeder Road, Dixon

Sheriff’s Detectives also found evidence of identity theft in Bauman’s possession.

Detectives are currently working with the Dixon and Vacaville Police Departments to determine if Bauman is linked to any other recent crimes in the area. Bauman has a history of violations in Solano County. Records show that in April 2012 he was pulled over for traffic violations, and then charged for driving without a license and giving false information to an officer. Then in July he was arrested for driving while in possession of marijuana and on a suspended license, and for failure to appear in court for his previous offenses.

In January of 2014 he was arrested by Dixon police for possession of concentrated cannabis. And then a week later he was charged with possession of burglary tools and stolen property.

This most recent case highlights the positive working relationship and communication between the law enforcement agencies in Solano County in resolving the assault case, along with so many area thefts. Also arrested in the incident were the driver of the vehicle Bauman was in, Troy Andre Tauriac, 40 of Vacaville, on an outstanding warrant for a probation violation. Alysia Marania Mosely, 27 of Dixon, was in the car too, and charged with possession of methamphetamine and paraphernalia.

POWAY- San Diego County Sheriff’s officials are asking for the public’s help in identifying suspects who stole an ATM machine, after ripping it from its foundation at a drugstore in Poway.

The theft occurred on Monday, August 31 at 3:15 a.m. when unknown suspects broke the glass front door at a Rite-Aid located at 1266 Poway Road. Surveillance video showed at least five suspects enter the store and secured a steel cable to a stand-alone ATM.

The suspects then attached the other end of the steel cable to a white pickup truck and ripped the ATM from its foundation. They fled the scene after loading the ATM machine on to the back of the pickup truck.

Two San Diego police officers found the ATM later that night near the 1500 block of Bonita Vista in Southeast San Diego. The ATM was broken open and there was no money inside.

A white, mid-1990s Chevrolet Silverado was used by the suspects in the theft, but no license plate number was seen on the surveillance video. San Diego County Crime Stoppers is offering a $1,000 reward to anyone with information that leads to an arrest.

The video of the theft has been posted to YouTube.

Authorities Received Several Complaints From Neighbors

LIVE OAK—Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office searched a house on Harper Street after they received numerous complaints from neighbors about the men at the house. When authorities searched the house they found a fully functional hash oil extraction lab on the property, and arrested the two occupants on several felony charges.

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The hash oil lab found on site (SCSD)

On Friday, August 28, agents with the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Officer Narcotics Enforcement Team conducted the search in response to the complaints. Agents, upon entering the house, found cases of Butane which is commonly used in the manufacturing of hash oil, also known as honey oil.

Agents discovered that the two men had a fully contained butane hash oil lab inside the house. They also discovered that they had numerous marijuana plants under cultivation. Both the marijuana and the hash oil were seized as evidence.

Agents also seized the equipment in the lab as evidence. The two men were arrested at the scene. They were 43-year-old Matthew Walter Sallee and 34-year-old James Alan Griffin, both of Santa Cruz.

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The .38 caliber Smith & Wesson seized during the arrests (SCSD).

Sallee was arrested on a misdemeanor of possession of drug paraphernalia, with bail set at $500.00. Griffin was arrested for manufacturing the hash oil and being a convicted felon in possession of a loaded hand gun.  His bail has been set at $50,000.00. Agents seized the firearm, a .38 caliber Smith and Wesson, as evidence.

Both Sallee and Griffin were transported and booked into the Santa Cruz County Jail.

Santa Barbara County – The U.S. 101 north of Santa Barbara is a wide open, scenic stretch of highway that sometimes lulls drivers into high rates of speed, frequently in violation of the posted speed limits. It may have just been that day-dreaming oversight and failure to maintain his travel at the posted limit just after noon on Thursday, August 27th that brought flashing red lights charging up behind a car driven by Emanuel Garibay-Padilla, a 25-year-old from Solvang.

When he was pulled over by the CHP officer on patrol that day, the officer took note of obvious “contraband in plain sight in the vehicle,” according to Santa Barbara county Sheriff’s Department Public Information Officer Kelly Hoover. When the officer invited Garibay-Padilla to alight from his car, he was immediately assaulted by the young man. The CHP officer made an immediate call for assistance while engaged in a physical altercation, and that assistance arrived with unexpected alacrity as a Sheriff’s Department deputy in plain clothes, who just happened to be in the area, was promptly on the scene.

Garibay-Padilla, perhaps more of a pugilist than he initially appeared, managed to fight off the attempts of the two officers to restrain him, and before he could be stopped, he was back in his car and driving at breakneck speed down the 101 toward Santa Barbara.

As these things generally go, additional CHP units were called to join the pursuit, along with the Santa Barbara County Air Support Unit. Reaching speeds approaching 100 mph, Garibay-Padilla crossed the center median, reversed direction, and continued his flight northbound on U.S. 101. Just north of the Gaviota Tunnel—an area of sweeping turns requiring slower speeds—“the CHP successfully deployed a spike strip” which caused Garibay-Padilla to come to a sudden halt.

He was summarily taken into custody by waiting deputies, arrested at the scene and transported to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital for treatment to the injuries he sustained in the course of his resisting arrest. Once cleared, he was transported to Santa Barbara County Jail, where he was booked on charges of felony evading, assault with a deadly weapon on a peace officer, threats of violence against a peace officer, and battery on a peace officer, with his bail set at $75,000.

Both the CHP officer and the plainclothes deputy were treated for non-life threatening injuries.

Photo: courtesy Santa Barbara County Jail Booking

Santa Barbara – One would think that while driving through the streets of an unfamiliar city in the pre-dawn hours well after midnight, you’d be wise enough to make sure that the guy behind the wheel had in his possession a valid Driver’s License. That’s what one would think, but based upon the events taking place at 5:30 a.m. on September 1st upon the streets of Santa Barbara, one would be wrong.

It was at that time that a 911 Emergency call to the Santa Barbara Police Department’s dispatch center reporting a traffic collision on a downtown street brought SBPD patrol officers to the scene, where they discovered a car that had failed to make a proper turn and had crashed into a parked car. Behind the wheel was Regino Omar Estrada Ramirez, a 25-year-old from Los Angeles who was not a licensed driver.

According to SBPD Public Information Officer Sgt. Riley Harwood, the officers at the scene, acting in accord to state law, informed Ramirez that his car was being impounded. With a tow truck standing at the ready, “officers conducted an inventory search” which revealed evidence of criminal activity, including stolen checks, a can of recently-used spray paint, and “a check fishing device” used to purloin mail from United States Postal Service mail depository boxes.

Realizing that Ramirez and his companions Ramon Julian Gomez, 19, and Saulo Solares, 20, also residents of Los Angeles, may have been involved in mail theft, the officers then commenced a more thorough search of the vehicle and of the three young men who were by then detained.

That subsequent search revealed the presence of a second “check fishing device”, a small amount of methamphetamine, stolen checks valued in excess of $28,000, and a pair of binoculars. The immediately ensuing investigation indicated that the trio, in the area to visit Ramirez’s mother, had spent the night committing a range of vandalism, spray painting graffiti, and stealing checks from area USPS mail boxes.

All three were arrested at the scene and transported to Santa Barbara County Jail where they were booked on charges of criminal conspiracy, check forgery, grand theft, vandalism, possession of methamphetamine, and participation in a criminal street gang, with their bail set at $120,000 each.

Photos: Courtesy Santa Barbara County Jail Booking

A Roseville man was arrested on suspicion of sexual battery and child molestation after an incident that occurred on Friday, August 28^th. According to Roseville Police, a middle-school age girl was on her way to school when she was grabbed by the suspect.

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Linda Creek Trail leads to Sierra Gardens Drive, just yards from the school.

The girl was walking alone on the Linda Creek Trail when at about 8:30 a.m., a man who was walking behind her, grabbed her and touched her buttocks. The girl was able to break free from the man and run to Warren T. Eich Middle School, where she immediately reported the incident.

Roseville Police were contacted by school officials and started investigating the incident. A City of Roseville employee provided a tip, which led police to the suspect who was identified as 38 year-old Quin Wilde Mack.

Mack was arrested and taken to Placer County Jail. His bail was set at $30,000. The suspect was also given a notice, which prevents him from using the city’s trail system and all other Roseville park facilities. Mack was listed as a transient in the Roseville area, but also reported his occupation as “clerk”. His booking photo has not been released due to the ongoing investigation.

The Roseville police commended the young girl for her quick actions, including reporting the incident. Police also expressed gratitude to the officials at Eich Middle School and the City of Roseville employee who provided the tip.

Quin Mack’s recorded history with the law goes back to 2008, when he was arrested for a DUI while living in Roseville. He had relocated to Orangevale in 2010, when he was arrested on September 22 for another DUI, along with driving on a suspended license.

Exactly one month later he was in San Diego, now listed as a transient, and arrested there for carjacking, robbery, petty theft, and assault with a deadly weapon likely to cause great bodily injury. After undergoing mental competency evaluations, he was released to custody to complete his sentence in February of 2012. The next year, in December of 2013, he was arrested by Los Angeles Police and charged with vandalism in excess of $5,000 damage. He reported living in Escondido, in San Diego County at that time. After his release, he made his way back to the Roseville area.

SOLEDAD—officers with the Southern Monterey County Violence Suppression Collaboration (SMCVSC) paid a visit to a known gang member in the South Monterey Area.  During their contact with him, the officers found that Juan Eduardo Lucio – “AKA, Gords” – was doing things that he was not supposed to be doing while he was out on parole.

At a time when students are roaming the streets just trying to get home, or participating in after-school activities, agents from the SMCVSC pulled over Juan Lucio and arrested him on a parole violation. When they told him about the search warrant they were going serve, Lucio cooperated with authorities.

Agents drove to his house on Inca Drive in Soledad to conduct the search. They noticed that his house was near Soledad High School, which is an additional charge, but more on that later. When the agents entered his house they found 3 ounces of crystal methamphetamine, drug paraphernalia and drug packaging. They also found Lucio’s “buy-owe” sheet along with ammunition from two illegally possessed guns. Though he was associated with this house, his residence of record is on 6th Street in south Soledad.

The two hand guns, a loaded semi-automatic and a snub nosed revolver, were seized as evidence. The semi-automatic handgun had been reported stolen out of the state of Washington. With evidence that supported the sale of drugs out of the house, and the house being within 1000 yards of a school, authorities had no choice but to add an additional charge to Mr. Lucio’s already insurmountable list of offenses.

Lucio, who was out on bail after being convicted of prior felonies, is a member of a criminal street gang in Soledad. Authorities transported him to the Monterey County Jail and booked him on charges of selling drugs, being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm, selling a controlled substance near a school, being in possession of stolen property and participating in a criminal street gang.