Michael Mobley, 66, of Oxnard.

Michael Mobley, a VC Resource Conservation District board director, resigned from two officer roles Wednesday morning, September 21, 2022, nine months after pleading guilty to grand theft in December 2021 for stealing nearly $50,000 from clients over a 7-year range. Bill Morris, of Fillmore, was chosen as vice president, and Kevin Cannon, of Santa Rosa Valley, was chosen as treasurer to replace Mobley. Mobley, 66, of Oxnard, did not resign from his seat as director, and continues to serve on the agency boards of Mound Basin Groundwater Sustainability and the United Water Conservation District.

Mobley returned $49,000 in victim restitution prior to pleading guilty in exchange for reducing the charge from a felony to a misdemeanor in a plea agreement. He was also ordered to complete 60 hours community service.

BACKGROUND:
In mid-March of 2021, an agricultural corporation identified as the Winchester Water Well group contacted deputies from the Moorpark Sheriff’s Station and reported that they were the victims of embezzlement by their property manager. The Winchester Water Well group was comprised of five ranch owners whose property was located in the unincorporated area just outside the city of Moorpark. Deputies obtained the basic facts, completed a theft report, and the case was forwarded to the Moorpark Investigations Bureau.

Over the next several weeks, investigators learned that the ranch owners hired a property management firm that specialized in agricultural land management, identified as Progressive Land Management to manage and service an irrigation water well for the ranchers. The ranch owners initially contracted with Progressive Land Management in mid-2014. Investigators determined that over the course of several years, the owner of Progressive Land Management, identified as Michael Mobley, 66, of Oxnard, stole tens of thousands of dollars from the ranch owners and falsified bank documents in order to conceal the thefts.

On the morning of May 20th, 2021, detectives from the Moorpark Station contacted Mobley as he was leaving his home in Oxnard and arrested him for the thefts, a felony. Detectives then returned to Mobley’s home and served a search warrant and seized additional evidence related to the thefts. Simultaneously, detectives from the Thousand Oaks Special Enforcement Unit, working in conjunction with Moorpark Detectives, served a search warrant at the offices of Progressive Land Management in the city of Santa Paula, where additional evidence was located and seized.

Detectives eventually determined that Mobley embezzled nearly $50,000.00 from the Winchester Well Water Group. Mobley was booked at the Ventura County Main Jail on the charge of 487(a) PC / Grand Theft with bail set at $10,000.00. He had no prior criminal record.

Hugh Elihu Warring.
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Benjamin Warring
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Missouri Warring
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Alice Conaway Warring
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Ora Comfort Warring
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Buckhorn School circa 1920.
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Courtesy Fillmore Historical Museum

Benjamin Warring was born March 9, 1831, in Tioga County, New York. In 1851 he traveled to California via the Isthmus of Panama, settling in San Jose where he had family. For a time, he was engaged in the lumber business. In 1854 he married Missouri Dorcas Easley. Missouri arrived in San Jose, from Missouri, with her family around the same time as Benjamin.

In 1869 the Warring family, which now included Benjamin and Missouri as well as their three children, Isaac, Hugh, and Emmaline, and Missouri’s father and brother, moved from San Jose to Ventura County. The trip took three weeks for the party to reach Ari Hopper’s ranch. Mrs. Warring’s older sister, Susannah, was married to Ari Hopper for whom Hopper Canyon between Fillmore and Piru is named.

In 1930, Hugh Warring told the story of how the family came to own Buckhorn this way, “My father put a shack up on the present Buckhorn Ranch. A man named Hitchcock had a possessory claim to the 160 acres my father wanted to buy. Hitchcock looked at the six-shooter my father wore and said he would trade the land for it. My father homesteaded the ranch as soon as it was open to entry.”

The area known as Buckhorn Ranch had been part of the Rancho Sespe land grant claimed by Thomas W. More. According to Hugh, “T. W. More and my father were fighting over this property until More was murdered (1877). The decision of the court was handed down during the trial of his murderers. The grant was fraudulent and whether More committed the fraud or not we do not know.”

There was an abundance of game in the area. It was not unusual to see bear prints around the area and Ari Hopper was known to have been a great bear hunter. Unfortunately, he died from an accidental gunshot wound while out hunting in 1898. It is said that Buckhorn Ranch earned its name because of the number of deer antlers which were displayed on the gate.

The first crops they grew on the ranch were hay and grain which were sold to the stagecoach companies. In 1887 the ranch was planted with apricots. The first citrus was planted in 1891 or 1892 and they began to bear fruit in 1896.

What really paid the bills in the early days was the ranch’s relationship with the stage company. Not only did they sell hay to them, but the ranch became one of the regular stagecoach stops.

In 1887 the Warrings got a new neighbor. David C. Cook from Chicago was a successful publisher of religious tracts and books. He came to California to recover his health as many wealthy people did during that period. Cook purchased the Rancho Temescal land grant from the Del Valle family of Rancho Camulos. Cook was establishing a “Second Garden of Eden” in the Santa Clara Valley. He laid out the town of Piru. When the Southern Pacific Railroad declined to put a depot in Piru since it already had one at Rancho Camulos, Cook built and staffed his own depot in Piru. He built a school, church and a large home known as the Cook Mansion. By 1890, he had recovered his health and returned to Chicago.

The Mansion and other property were first sold to the Piru Oil and Land Company. In 1907 W. A. Ramsay of Colorado purchased the Mansion for $65,000. The Santa Barbara Morning Press of October 20, 1907 reported that this was the same W. A. Ramsay who was promoting a “Ventura – Nordhoff (Ojai) – Matilija electric road.” The electric road would have been a trolley line between these points.

In 1912 Hugh Warring purchased the Mansion from Ramsey and the family owned it until 1968 when it was purchased by the Scott Newhalls.

In 1881 Hugh Warring had married Alice Conaway. Daughter of Joshua Conaway who was one of the first Ventura County Supervisors and County Assessor. Hugh and Alice would have four sons: Edwin, Floyd, Alfred and Lester. Alice died in 1896 with the official cause listed as “edema of the lungs.”

Hugh remarried in 1903 to Ora Comfort, whose family had lived in the Buckhorn area since 1878. Ora had two sons from a prior marriage and she and Hugh had two sons, Benjamin and Chester

Hugh Warring was involved in many enterprises such as the Hugh Warring Domestic Water System which provided water to the Piru community. He served one term as a Ventura County Commissioner. Running as an independent, he defeated both the Democratic and Republican candidates.

Hugh built Piru’s first school on his property in 1882. It burned down and a new one was built in its place. That structure is reported as having burned before 1913 and the third structure was built just west of its location. Benjamin Warring served as the first director on the board of the Buckhorn School District, with Hugh serving in that capacity next. His sons, some of his grandsons, his brother Walter, and his only son, as well as Ora Warring’s father, H. B. Comfort, all served as trustees on the board for the Buckhorn School District. In 1916 it got a name change from Piru School to Buckhorn School. In 1921, it was enlarged to a two-room building. It was closed in the 1960s and the building was converted to a private residence.

In 1927 along with W. H. Price, Frank Erskine, J. M. Horton, Charles Padelford and others, Hugh Warring established Ramona Building and Loan. The company was to extend loans for the building of homes and businesses in the Fillmore and Piru areas specifically. Hugh Warring was its first president. Ramona Building and Loan didn’t survive the effects of the great depression, which saw to its close in 1932. Hugh’s son, Floyd, opened the Ramona Savings and Loan with a group of investors, in conjunction with his father’s building and loan. It made it through that era, staying open to serve the Fillmore/Piru communities until the mid-1980s when it was purchased by an Orange County concern.

Warring also was a major benefactor for his community donating the land for Piru’s Warring Park in 1937, as well as a pipe organ to the “Piru Community Church.” It was dedicated on June 2, 1935, with David C. Cook’s granddaughter in attendance. The organist for the day was Mrs. Kathryn Kelley Van Duyen of Pasadena and the Buckhorn Rhythm band also performed.

Although David C. Cook founded Piru, it can be argued that Hugh Warring did more to shape the community.

Hugh Warring passed away in October on 1939. His wife, Ora, lived with their son Chester until her death in 1954.

Photos credit Ventura County Sheriff’s Office.
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On September 5, 2022, at about 12:00 PM, an unknown man entered the La Hacienda Market located at 365 Main Street. The man cashed a check that was later discovered to be fraudulent. The man did not provide identification however, he stated that his nickname is “Guero” or “Jalisquillo.”

The suspect is described as Hispanic, approximately 30-40 years old, about 6’0” tall and 210 pounds. The suspect was wearing a black T-shirt, blue jeans, and a trucker style hat that had the word “Jalisco” on the front. Surveillance photographs of the suspect are attached.

Anyone with information pertaining to the identity of the suspect, this crime and/or similar one’s are urged to contact the Fillmore Police Station at (805) 524-2233 or the below listed detective. The reporting party may remain anonymous.

The Ventura County Sheriff’s Office would like to remind all business owners that cash personal or business checks to verify identification prior to cashing a check and to scrutinize the authenticity of the check. Businesses offering check cashing services should also obtain a fingerprint from the customers cashing checks.

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).

Nature of Incident: Forgery / Request for Public Assistance
Report Number: 22-120412
Location: La Hacienda Market, Fillmore
Date & Time: September 9, 2022 at 12:00 PM
Unit(s) Responsible: Fillmore Investigations Bureau/Fillmore Patrol Services
(S)uspects, (V)ictims, (P)arty, (D)ecedent, City of Residence
(S) Hispanic male, unknown
Prepared by: Sergeant Will Hollowell
Approved by: Captain Garo Kuredjian, Fillmore Police Chief

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A 20-year-old Fillmore man was arrested for stealing several hundred pounds of plants from a local nursery.

In the early morning hours of September 15, 2022, a patrol deputy located an unoccupied and illegally parked vehicle in the alley of the 400 Block of Central Avenue in the city of Fillmore. The deputy noticed a large amount of Rosemary plants inside the vehicle, unbeknownst to the deputy, the plants had been stolen a few hours prior.

Later the same morning, a local rancher called the Sheriff’s Office to report that his nursery had been the victim of a theft. A suspect had cut and stole several hundred pounds of Rosemary plants from their fields during the night.

Fillmore detectives and patrol deputies quickly followed up and investigated. Detectives identified Jose Hernandez, a Fillmore resident, as the suspect. Hernandez has a history of committing similar crimes. In 2019 Hernandez was arrested for stealing Bay Laurel plants from a nursery located in the same area as this crime.

On September 15, 2022, deputies located Hernandez along with his vehicle in the area of Saratoga Avenue in the city of Fillmore. Hernandez had attempted to conceal his vehicle by parking away from his residence. Upon contacting Hernandez, detectives located several hundred pounds of fresh cut Rosemary and evidence linking the plants to the nursery where they had been stolen. The stolen plants were returned to the nursey without being damaged.

Hernandez was taken into custody and booked at the Pre-Trial Detention Facility for felony grand theft of agriculture crops and possession of stolen property. Hernandez remains in custody with his bail set at $10,000. His next court date is set for September 19, 2022 at 1:30 PM.

This arrest was made possible due to the “Farm Watch,” a partnership between the farming community and the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office. Farm Watch is a county wide electronic neighborhood watch program that is distributed to more than several hundred farms, ranches, nurseries, and supply houses. This program provides information to ranchers on agriculture crime trends and on how to react and treat the crime scene so that potential evidence is preserved for immediate processing by deputies of the Ventura Sheriff’s Office.

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 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. We are better at what we do because of our community partnerships.

Nature of Incident: Suspect arrested for Stealing Plants
Report Number: 22-123770
Location: 20000 Block of South Mountain Road, Unincorporated area of Fillmore/Ventura County, CA
Date & Time: September 15, 2022 @ 4:00 PM
Unit(s) Responsible: Fillmore Detective Bureau & Fillmore Patrol Services
(S)uspects, (V)ictims, (P)arty, (D)ecedent City of Residence Age
(A) Jose Antonio Rosales Hernandez, Fillmore, 20
Prepared by: Detective Sergeant Will Hollowell
Approved by: Fillmore Police Chief, Captain Garo Kuredjian

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).

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On September 13, 2022, the Ventura County Environmental Health Division (Division) received confirmation from the California Department of Public Health that a bird collected during the fourth week of August from the City of Simi Valley area tested positive for West Nile Virus (WNV). This is the first bird collected in 2022 to test positive for WNV in Ventura County. There are no confirmed human cases at this time.

WNV is considered endemic, so we can expect the virus to stay in our environment.

The Division monitors and controls mosquito breeding sources throughout Ventura County. All mosquito breeding sources in the area where the bird was collected will be inspected and treated if evidence of mosquito breeding is observed.

The Division also advises the public to take the following precautions to minimize exposure to WNV: Eliminate standing water from your property; make sure doors and windows have tight-fitting screens without holes; when outdoors wear long pants and long-sleeved shirts and limit activity especially at dawn and dusk; when outdoors apply insect repellent.

WNV can not only affect humans but can also affect horses. For information on WNV in horses, the owners should contact their veterinarian.

To report any potential mosquito breeding sources in Ventura County the public can call the mosquito complaint HOTLINE at 805/658-4310. The Division also provides mosquito eating fish to the public to use in non-maintained swimming pools, ornamental ponds and similar water features. To request mosquito-eating fish call 805/662-6582. To report wild birds that have died recently call the California Department of Public Health at 877/WNV-Bird (877/968-2473).

For more information about WNV symptoms and preventable measures, mosquito control, and surveillance efforts in Ventura County please visit the Division’s website: www.vcrma.org/west-nile-virus

Ventura County Sheriff's Department

On the morning of September 3, 2022, deputies from the Fillmore Police Department responded to investigate a burglary to a business located in the 500 Block of Ventura Street in the city of Fillmore.

Upon arrival, the investigating deputies determined that an unknown suspect(s) forced entry through the front door of the business while the business was closed and stole three acoustic guitars from inside the store. The deputies canvassed the area and located surveillance cameras that captured the commission of the crime, on the evening of September 2nd. From the surveillance video, deputies identified 34-year-old, Fillmore resident Guadalupe Lopez as the burglary suspect.

A search for Lopez ensued and he was located and arrested in the 500 Block of Santa Clara Street in Fillmore on September 3rd. One of the stolen guitars was located nearby and returned to the business owner. Deputies collected additional evidence which linked Lopez to commission of the burglary. The other two stolen acoustic guitars are outstanding, which are pictured in the attached photograph.

Lopez was arrested for PC 459-Burlary and was booked at the Pre-Trial Detention Facility in Ventura. On September 7th, Lopez was arraigned in Ventura County Superior Court and he was held to answer on the burglary charge. Lopez is currently in custody with a bail set at $10,000. His next court hearing is scheduled for September 20, 2022.

Anyone with information about this crime or having knowledge about the location of the outstanding stolen property are urged to contact the Fillmore Police Station @ (805) 524-2233 or the below-listed detective. The reporting party may remain anonymous.
The Ventura County Sheriff’s Office and Fillmore Police Department is committed to maintaining the safety of all residents by continued community partnerships. Join us in the fight on crime by following us on Twitter @VENTURASHERIFF, Facebook, Instagram @ VCSHERIFF, and with Nixle by texting your zip code to 888777 to receive local law enforcement and public safety alerts and advisories.

The Ventura County Sheriff’s Office has also established a secure database to log information about who has surveillance systems. If you would like to register your surveillance information and allow authorities to contact you, should a crime occur in/or near where your cameras are installed we kindly ask that you email the Fillmore Police Department @fillmorePD.CameraShare@ventura.org.

Nature of Incident: Burglary Suspect Arrested
Report Number: 22-118058
Location: 500 Block of Santa Clara Street, Fillmore
Date & Time: 09-03-22 @ 3:10 PM
Unit(s) Responsible: Fillmore Patrol Services
(S)uspects, (V)ictims, (P)arty, (D)ecedent City of Residence Age
A. Lopez, Guadalupe De Jesus, Fillmore, Ca., 34
Prepared by: Sergeant Will Hollowell
Approved by: Captain Garo Kuredjian

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).