7 Sentenced In Extensive Ventura County Poaching Conspiracy, AND other stories
Wednesday May 29, 2024
(Top photo courtesy CDFW)
Seven men have been banned for life from hunting and fishing in California because of something they did in Ventura County.
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife says that seven people have pleaded guilty and have been sentenced in connection with a sophisticated, long term, and extensive poaching conspiracy in the Ventura County portion of the Los Padres National Forest.
The illegal operation involved the issuance of 87 fraudulent hunting licenses, tags, and other entitlements that allowed hunters to violate the rules and regulations with impunity.
They say those illegal tags and licenses were obtained from a clerk at a market in Piru who was a part of he conspiracy.
He is one of the people who pleaded guilty and was sentenced.
It allowed the hunters who were involved to illegally take game.
The investigation began several years ago following complaints from other hunters.
Search warrants served as part of the lengthy investigation discovered evidence of the crimes.
The seven co-defendants agreed to a plea deal that included each serve between 180 to 220 days in jail, spend two years on formal probation, and face a lifetime ban on hunting and fishing in California.
The Department of Fish and Wildlife identified the seven defendants as 31-year-old Martin Bravo Junior of Oxnard, 42-year-old Jaime Mendoza Avila of Porterville, 36-year-old Gilberto Lopez Hernandez of Thousand Oaks, 39-year-old Walfre Lopez Y Lopez of Oxnard, 33-year-old Christian Lopez Perez of Los Angeles, and 45-year-old Juventino Reyes Guererro of Piru.
The case was prosecuted by the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.
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AND HERE ARE THE OTHER STORIES...
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GUILTY PLEA IN ONLINE CHILD SEX CASE
A Ventura County man has pleaded guilty in connection with Online Sexual Communication Crimes.
According to court files, 68-year-old Barry Fike, pleaded guilty Wednesday to felony sending harmful material to a child, and felony communicating with a child with the intent to commit a sexual act.
Prosecutors described Fike when they charged him last year as a minister at a Fillmore church and previously a teacher at a religious high school.
The authorities say the charges related to communications online with what he believed was a 15-year-old girl when it was actually a law enforcement officer posing as a teenager as part of an investigation into such crimes.
Fike remains free on his own recognizance pending sentencing on July 15th.
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SUSPECT IN CAMARILLO ROBBERY ARRESTED
Detectives in Camarillo say they’ve made an arrest in connection with a robbery that happened at the end of March at a business in the Camarillo Premium Outlets.
The robbery really started as a shoplifting but as the suspect was leaving the store with a bag full of unpaid merchandise an employee tried to stop him but the suspect beat up the employee and left.
That turned it into a robbery.
An investigation into the crime led detectives to identify a 34-year-old Oxnard man who was arrested Tuesday and almost immediately posted bail and was released.
Detectives say a search of his home turned up evidence of the robbery including merchandise taken in the hold-up and an illegal handgun.
Since he bailed out of jail before charges were filed, he is due in court on June 12th to face those charges and enter a plea.
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NOT GUILTY PLEAS FROM ALLEGED RETAIL THEFT CREW
Three people have pleaded not guilty to charges they were involved in organized retail thefts that targeted ACE Hardware and Nike stores in Ventura County.
The three were identified as 42-year-old Josef Lugo of Simi Valley, 36-year-old Jamaal Reilly of Oxnard, and 38-year-old Nickol Rosser of Newport Beach.
The suspects were finally caught by deputies as they left a Nike Outlet Store in Camarillo with the merchandise.
They are also accused of stealing hundreds of dollars worth of tools from ACE Hardware in Thousand Oaks.
Lugo is free on his own recognizance, Rosser was released on bail, but Reilly remains in jail.
All three are due back in court on June 5th.