3 Ventura Men Plead Guilty In Federal Court To Crime Spree

Thursday April 25, 2024

     The United States Attorney's Office says three Ventura men have pleaded guilty to a series of crimes that were charged under federal law that could bring lengthy federal prison sentences.

     The main defendant, 30-year-old Oscar Aguirre Silva of Ventura, pleaded guilty to 10 felonies for extorting a taco truck vendor, robbing two small businesses, and fraudulently using debit and credit cards from a victim he robbed at gunpoint during a crime spree late last year.

     Meanwhile, Silva's accomplice, 28-year-old Edward Donaldo Ramirez Martinez of Ventura, pleaded guilty to aggravated identity theft and one count of being a felon in possession of ammunition.

     Prosecutors say he was the getaway driver when Silva robbed the woman at gunpoint last November and stole her iPhone and purse containing her credit and debit cards.

     The two men then went to the Walmart store in Ventura where they used the woman's credit and debit cards to rack up more than $500 worth of merchandise.

     Finally, Silva and another co-defendant, 30-year-old David Rey Reyes of Ventura used the stolen cards to purchase other items at an Oxnard smoke shop.

     Reyes pleaded guilty last March.

     Most of the charges involving the three men include bank fraud, attempted bank fraud,and aggravated identity theft

     All three men remain in federal custody pending sentencing.

     Silva is facing a possible maximum sentence of several decades in federal prison while Ramirez Martinez is looking at up to a dozen years in federal prison, and Reyes is facing a possible maximum of decades in federal prison.