Santa Paula Has A New Police Chief and other law enforcement stories
Wednesday January 24, 2024
(Above photo SPPD Chief Don Aguilar)
Santa Paula did not go far to find a new police chief.
They decided to make their current interim chief, Don Aguilar, permanent.
Chief Aguilar was made Interim Chief in November of 2022.
He came to that job after spending 35 years as a member of the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office rising to the highest ranks of that organization.
City officials decided to change his title from interim to permanent after an extensive 4-month search that also included a significant outreach to all members of the community as to what they wanted in a Chief of Police.
There were also extensive interviews and evaluations of three highly qualified candidates and they say Aguilar emerged as the ideal choice.
The department is facing several challenges including the need to recruit and retain more officers.
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The Simi Valley Police Department is hosting a public forum Thursday evening to talk about the idea of placing a system of license plate reader cameras “strategically capturing the license plates of vehicles entering the community.”
It’s called FLOCK SAFETY system and police say it’s “cutting edge” technology.
The idea would be to read the license plates of vehicles entering the City of Simi Valley.
Police say, in their words, “This groundbreaking tool provides law enforcement with actionable evidence, significantly enhancing their ability to investigate and solve crimes.”
They also say, quoting again “given that 7 in 10 crimes involve a vehicle, the FLOCK SAFETY camera plays a pivotal role in capturing suspect vehicles, thereby contributing to crime prevention and bolstering the safety of local neighborhoods.”
The community forum is scheduled for Thursday, January 25th, at 6 PM at Simi Valley City Hall.
For those unable to attend in person, the forum will be live-streamed on the city’s YouTube channel.
There will also be a chance for the public to ask questions.
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An Oxnard man has been formally charged in an extensive Human Trafficking and Child Exploitation case.
The Ventura County District Attorney’s Office says that 20-year-old Victor Manuel Avalos Junior of Oxnard is facing ten felony counts.
The charges include three counts of unlawful action with a child 10 years or younger, three counts of forcible lewd act upon a child, causing a minor to engage in commercial sex acts, advertising child sexual material for sale, and possessing such material.
Each count also carries a special allegation that Avalos Junior took advantage of a position of trust or confidence to commit the offense.
The investigation began in December with a Cyber Tip regarding a video on Snapchat.
The FBI joined the investigation and they and the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office served a search warrant at a home in the unincorporated area of Nyeland Acres near Oxnard.
Avalos Junior was arrested on January 19th and is being held without bail
His arraignment was continued until February 16th.
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Oxnard Police Department Service Dog "Joey" is being credited with locating an illegal gun that was hidden by a documented gang member.
It happened Wednesday evening in the 1200 block of Felicia Court.
""Joey" and his handler, K9 Officer Coronel were on foot patrol with the gang unit when they spotted a 20-year-old Oxnard man who they say is a document gang member.
He was allegedly hiding near a parked vehicle.
Officers contacted the suspect and he was taken into custody.
They then had "Joey", who is trained to detect the presence of firearms, search the area and he found a loaded Glock 9-milimeter handgun that had been hidden near the wheel well of the vehicle.
The gun was confiscated and the suspect was taken into custody and booked into the Ventura County Jail for being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm and possession of a firearm that was not registered to you.
