District Attorney Erik Nasarenko announced that a guilty plea was entered by Juventino Reyes Guerrero (DOB 09/11/78), of Piru, for his role in working with an illegal wildlife poaching group, known as the “E-Bike Crew.”

Reyes Guerrero, the operator of Fish & Wildlife licensing equipment located at Lizette’s Market in Piru, pled guilty on Monday, January 30, 2023, to six felonies, including two counts of conspiracy to commit a crime and four counts of filing a false or forged document.

Reyes Guerrero is scheduled to be sentenced on March 15, 2023, at 9:00 a.m. in courtroom 12 of the Ventura County Superior Court, where he is expected to receive 180 days in the Ventura County Jail and a lifetime ban operating state computers, such as the one in Lizette’s Market for printing hunting tags.

“The defendant abused the licensing systems and helped to orchestrate illegal killings of local wildlife,” said District Attorney Erik Nasarenko. “His actions endangered our environment, and as a consequence of his guilty plea, he will have a lifetime ban from issuing hunting tags and licenses.”

Martin Bravo Sr. (DOB 04/14/63), of Oxnard, Martin M. Bravo (DOB 05/13/92), of Oxnard, Walfre Lopez y Lopez (DOB 06/14/84), of Oxnard, Gilberto Lopez Hernandez (DOB 02/15/88), of Thousand Oaks, Jaime Mendoza Avila (DOB 10/02/81), of Porterville, and Cristian Lopez Perez (DOB 02/11/91), of Los Angeles, are the six charged members of the “E-Bike Crew” wildlife trafficking organization (WTO).

California Department of Fish & Wildlife investigated the “E-Bike Crew” discovering that they worked with Reyes Guerrero to fraudulently reprint hunting licenses and tags.

“This guilty plea is a testament to the intensive and thorough investigation on the part of our wildlife officers in combination with support from the Ventura District Attorney’s Office investigators and prosecutors,” said David Bess, Chief of the Law Enforcement Division and Deputy Director of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW).

An early disposition conference for the six WTO members is scheduled for April 6, 2023, at 1:30 p.m. in courtroom 12 of the Ventura County Superior Court.

Defendant Information:
Juventino Reyes Guerrero (DOB 09/11/78), Piru
Charges Pled Guilty to:
• (2 counts) PC 182 (a)(1) – Conspiracy to commit a crime
• (4 counts) PC 115(a) - Filing a false or forged document

Pictured (l-r) is President Elect Scott Beylik and Rotarian Ernie Villegas. Courtesy Rotarian Martha Richardson.
Enlarge Photo

The speaker was Fillmore Rotary’s own Ernie Villegas. He has recently been appointed to the Fillmore/Piru Memorial District Board. As you all know the Memorial Building and Youth Building are completely closed due to the many repairs needed. Ernie has been working diligently looking for funding and they have been approved for two grants totaling $2.1 million. While that is amazing it will not be enough for the entire renovation. After the complete inspection of the two buildings, a priority list was compiled, and the roof will be the first repair made. Ernie is now researching who can do the work. He has also been talking to the county about making the Memorial Building an Emergency Service Operation Center.

Applications are now being accepted from high school senior girls for the P.E.O. Education Award. Girls planning to attend an accredited undergraduate degree program or a vocational/skills training program may pick up an application in the career center at FHS. Applicants must live within the boundaries of Fillmore Unified School District but do not have to attend Fillmore High School. Potential candidates may also call (805) 625-0264 for information about how to obtain an application. Deadline
to return applications is February 17, 2023.

Ventura County Sheriff's Department

On 01/09/2023, a victim, driving her vehicle out of the extreme weather conditions in the unincorporated area of Ventura County at South Mountain Road / Balcom Canyon Road, became stranded in the mud and water. The victim was forced to evacuate and abandon her vehicle, leaving several personal items behind, including credit cards.

The next day, the victim’s bank alerted her to fraudulent credit card activity in excess of $1,800.00 made using the stolen credit cards at several businesses in the surrounding area. An unknown suspect had entered the abandoned vehicle, stole the victims credit cards, and made several fraudulent purchases at local businesses.

Detectives assigned to the Santa Clara Valley Station obtained video of the suspects making these fraudulent purchases. Detectives were able to visually identify both suspects as Fillmore resident Rodrigo Estrada aka Rodrigo Perez and Santa Paula resident Pedro Chavez.

On 01/25/2023, Pedro Chavez was contacted and arrested in the city of Fillmore without incident. On 01/30/2023, Rodrigo Estrada aka Rodrigo Perez was contacted in the city of Santa Paula and he was arrested without incident. A search warrant of the vehicle driven by the suspects was obtained and numerous items purchased with the stolen credit cards were recovered.

Both parties were arrested and booked into the Ventura County Pre-Trail Detention Facility for violations of California Penal Code 530.5 (a) / Identity Theft and 182 (a) (1) / Conspiracy to Commit a Crime and 496 (a) / Receiving Stolen Property.

Pedro Chavez remains in custody with his bail set at $50.000.00. His court date is 01/31/2023. Rodrigo Estrada aka Rodrigo Perez also remains in custody with his bail set at $50.000.00. His court date is 02/01/2023.

Anyone with information pertaining to crimes of this nature are urged to contact the Fillmore Police Department at (805) 524-2233, Detective Valdez, or Detective Lemar at the below listed numbers. The reporting party may remain anonymous.

The Ventura County Sheriff’s Office is committed to maintaining the safety of all residents by continued community partnerships. The Fillmore Police Department encourages citizens to immediately report suspicious people and vehicles, and to promptly report any crime they come across by calling 911. The Ventura County Sheriff’s Office would like to thank members of the public for their on-going support and due diligence in providing information to assist our agency in solving crimes.

Nature of Incident: Suspects Victimize Flood Evacuee
Report Number: 23-3952
Location: South Mountain Road / Balcom Canyon Road, Unincorporated area of Ventura County
Date & Time: January 10, 2023 @ 9:48 AM
Unit(s) Responsible: Santa Clara Valley Station Patrol, Santa Clara Valley Detectives
(S)uspects, (V)ictims, (P)arty, (D)ecedent City of Residence Age
(S-1) Rodrigo Estrada aka Rodrigo Perez, Fillmore, 45
(S-2) Pedro Soria Chavez, Santa Paula, 26
Prepared by: Detective Sergeant Will Hollowell
Approved by: Captain Eduardo Malagon

Ventura County Crime Stoppers will pay up to $1,000 reward for information, which leads to the arrest and criminal complaint against the person(s) responsible for this crime. The caller may remain anonymous. The call is not recorded. Call Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS (8477).