Greetings Farm Watch.
Happy Veterans Day. Everyone of us at Farm Watch give thanks to you, our Veterans, who one way or another, gave up a today for our tomorrow.
In addition, we would like to welcome our 23 new Farm Watch members.
It is amazing, we have just grown to over 600 Ventura County Farms, Nurseries, Ranchers, Packing - Supply Houses and Oil Operations.
Lets get started. First the good news.
BOOK A CROOK:
Sheriff Detective Ray Dominguez and his partner Sergeant Steve Rhods have been the Sheriff's lead agents in our Rural Crime Task Force. For the last 10 months, their mission and passion has been to catch these connex-shed thugs. I mention "passion," because these two detectives were and are "motivated and driven," 24 hours a day, to stop this organized crime ring. Time and time again those bandits have been using the cover of darkness to break into your storage sheds on rural properties. They have plundered over $100,000 in loot.
Ray and Steve were not alone and have been supported by their Captain, Rick Barrios and an army of crime analysts, crime scene scientists, technical surveillance units and 12 detectives from Major Crimes, Camarillo, Fillmore, Ojai, El Rio and Moorpark.
In addition, their task force worked regularly with Santa Barbara, Monterey, Riverside and Los Angeles Sheriff detectives.
It has been hard during the last 3 months to not brag to you about their hours and hours of surveillance work. The tide changed and on November 8, 2010, Ray and Steve were deep into Los Angeles and Riverside working yet another surveillance on our primary theft suspects.
They were side by side with an undercover surveillance squad from Riverside. Ray and Steve coordinated a massive operation that followed 3 of the suspects as they prepared to strike yet another victim. Shortly after dark, Ray, Steve and their Riverside team sprung on the crooks who were caught off-guard, focused on their next victim.
The suspects tried to flee. Their van was laden with stolen property. Ray and Steve were ready with a Riverside K-9 and undercover units that swarmed on the crooks. They didn't make it far and now call Riverside Jail their address.
These are our guys but this ring is organized. We are still looking to capture the leader and 4 other members. His name is Wilfredo Jimenez. He uses many other names, but his face hasn't changed. We have attached a photo of him with this email. Let us know if you have ever employed Wilfredo on a ranch or farm. Wilfredo we are coming and we will catch you. P.S we have Federal Warrants issued for your capture.
Ray wanted us to thank all of the Detectives, farmers, nurseries and ranchers who gave the leads to his team. The Farm Watch tips, on-scene fingerprints, video and DNA evidence led to their arrest. Help us catch the remaining thugs before they gear up again. Stay vigilant about your rural security and we will find them together.
If you have time, drop a line to Ray and Steve and their team, give them a thanks. Ray.dominguez@ventura.org Steve.rhods@ventura.org
AWHAI BURGLAR:
An unknown suspect entered a ranch where a house was being built and broke into the connex box. They stole power tools, chain saw, reciprocating saw, chop saw and 2 weed trimmers. Refer to the arrest listed above. Same crew
PRODUCE THEFT:
Not actually fruit or vegetables, but more sophisticated. The suspects broke into a Produce Facility in the 6000 block of Bradley Road. They cut chains and locks and stole produce equipment.
LANDSCAPE THEFT:
12,000 Block Ridge Drive: A landscaper was working on a yard. When he returned to his truck parked out front of his client's house, he noticed his equipment stolen. These burglars are very unique. They love hitting Santa Rosa Valley in broad day light. Let's help out our landscapers. Keep an eye on their trucks and call in any suspicious persons. Our 911 operators are on board with us and really want you to call.
SHOTS FIRED:
On October 24th at about 9:30 P.M, a driver was traveling westbound on South Mountain Road. An unknown suspect aimed a gun at and fired into the victim's car. The bullet passed through the car door, narrowly missing the driver. We need help with this case. contact Detective Darin Hendrin at 805-524-2233 with any tips. All calls will be confidential.
BACKSEAT FOREST THIEF:
A U.S.F.S visitor parked their car at the Gridley Trail in Ojai. They went for a quick day hike. The suspects broke the rear window and stole a purse and belongings from the car. Remember two things. Crooks love to prey on victims at trail heads and gym parking lots. Why? They know you will be gone for hours and you don't want to take your personal belongings with you. Lets play crime prevention JEOPARDY. Five letter word that prevents theft. _R_ _ K. Did you get it? The word is TRUNK. Try to minimize your belongs that you leave behind in the car. Put valuables in the trunk and don't simply cover up items in the passenger compartment with a towel or jacket. That is even a bigger red flag.
HIDE A KEY:
This is a first for me. Similar to the Gridley Thief story. Except on this one I need to mention that if you use a hide-a-key. It better be really hidden. Last week on Yerba Buena Road, a suspect found the hide a key and cleaned out the car while the hiker was out meandering in the park.
JEWELRY HEIST:
Santa Rosa Valley has been hit by a brazen burglar that entered through a slider window and ransacked a room in a house taking a large amount of jewelry. Lock those doors!
TRIPLE HEADER:
This was a rough three weeks for Santa Rosa Valley residents. We have an opportunistic burglar who hit a vehicle in the middle of the night that was parked on Barbara Drive and took all the belongings out of the truck.
19th Hole:
An unknown suspect broke into the golf shop and tried to steal money from the South Mountain Golf Course. They must have been interrupted and only escaped with a limited amount of cash. We can use your help on this. Let us know if you observed any suspicious vehicles between 4 Pm and 7Am from October 16th to 18th.
PACIFIC VIEW:
If you have never been on this rural street. Look it up on Map Qwest and go explore. It is a hidden gem of Ventura County. The view of the Pacific and Channel Islands is epic. It attracts people wanting a Ventura County South Coast rural lifestyle. It also attracts burglars looking for a remote victim. A rancher in the 10,000 block had their storage shed broken into and the suspects stole a Generator and Water Pump. This theft is consistent with our connex box crime ring and we hope to recover the property when we catch the remaining suspects.
COPPER:
3000 Block Howe Road, Piru. A suspect entered a yard and stole 300 feet of copper wire. This wire is very heavy and likely took a crew of at least two. We are searching local metal recycling centers but can use your help.
INJECTOR THIEF:
Suspects broke into an Agricultural Services Company on Gonzalez and Victoria and stole a fertilizer injection pump, insecticide and fungicide. Again, they cut the locks to the yard.
INJURED HORSE:
Fillmore - Highway 126 Telegraph Rd. at Hopper Canyon Rd. At 10 P.M, our K-9 Deputy found a horse at the location that had been hit by a car. The horse was lying in a field, critically injured and suffering. The horse could not be saved. If you have any information of someone hitting a horse or unexplained front end vehicle damage, give us a call. In the future, livestock can escape our ranches and if you see any loose farm animals call 911. It is imperative that we get out to those calls before they end in tragedy.
SHELL ROAD:
Suspects broke into an energy company and tried to remove copper wire from an oil well. They were interrupted and left behind lots of evidence. We hope to catch them through our CSI Unit. Our suspects likely drive a silverish-blue Dodge Caravan and a gold 1999 Saturn.
JACK O LANTERN:
Seems like there is always a bizarre crime around the corner. We had Farm Watch member witness a late night suspect load up an entire car full of pumpkins from a Tierra Rejada farm. They gave chase and the suspects fled on Highway 23.
HORSE THIEF:
Not really, but we knew that would catch your attention. Everyone loves horses, except our suspect who stole a $260 check from a horse boarding facility on the 15,000 Block of Tierra Rejada. If you know of any shady characters in that area give us an email tip. crime.watch@ventura.org
New Check Cashing Scam:
A local Farm Watch member runs a Fillmore check cashing service for migrant workers. Friday's are busy days. These check cashing operations rely heavy on trust and personal knowledge of the person's cashing the checks. A group of 20 farm workers were in line to cash checks mid-day last Friday. The checks were all issued from the same farm operation. The clerk became suspicious because he didn't recognize many of the workers. He decided to call the farming operation. Suddenly, half the line fled the store running and scampering in all directions. We are talking over a dozen crooks. Citizens were alarmed outside and helped Deputies locate the fleeing suspects. After a brief vehicle hunt, Sergeant Jim Aguirre and his team caught crooks Ramiro De La Cruz, Juana Marquez, Cecilia Hernandez and Hector Mora all of Compton and Los Angeles. Needless to say they were not farm workers at all. They were booked for burglary. The others escaped. The checks were all forged. This was a criminal ring out of Los Angeles that are forging farm paychecks and hitting Pay-Check Centers.. Make sure your ranch and farm accountants spot-check your cashed payroll checks and see that the names on the processed checks are in fact employees. They get away with it or they wouldn't try. That's a new one for us here in Ventura County.
WELCOME:
Farm Watch would like to welcome two new members who are key to our virtual community crime fighting. Sue Exline is the new Forest District Ranger for the Forest Service Ojai District. Sue comes with great experience and a deep commitment to community involvement. Sue took John Bridgewater's position. John retired this summer.
Deputy District Attorney Jim Eicher has been introduced and assigned as our Farm Watch Prosecutor. Our thanks to District Attorney Greg Totten. D.A Totten is strong supporter and original member of Farm Watch. He has dedicated his prosecution team to working hand in hand with our rural crime investigators. This means streamlined prosecutions and a one-stop-shop for our detectives to interface with an expert Deputy District Attorney who understands rural crimes.
Did we mention over 600 members. Yeah I know we did, but it is worth mentioning agin that folks like you make rural living a joy. We need one another, and our exponential crime fighting team of Farm Watch means 600 more sets of eyes helping deputies and police officers. We can't do it without you.
Give a Veteran a big "thanks" today and spread our cheer and thoughts for our brave women and men overseas.
Your Friend,
Tim
BOB BROOKS - SHERIFF
