District Attorney Gregory D. Totten announced on March 2, 2017 that David Joseph Wirsing of Ventura pleaded guilty to conspiracy to impede enforcement by Certified Unified Program Agency (CUPA) Official, a felony offense.

Wirsing was the former transportation manager for Santa Clara Waste Water Company (“SCWWC”) located at 815 Mission
Rock Road in Santa Paula. He was indicted for his role in events leading up to an explosion that occurred on November 18, 2014, at the SCWWC facility. In July 2014, Wirsing and others at SCWWC negotiated a lease for an off-site storage yard located near Palm Avenue in Santa Paula. Wirsing’s indictment and guilty plea reflect his role in moving chemicals from the SCWWC plant to this offsite storage yard just prior to CUPA officials arriving to conduct inspections.

Wirsing is scheduled to be sentenced at 9:00 a.m. on August 28, 2017. It is expected that Wirsing will be placed on formal probation and face a maximum of 365 days in local custody.