Ventura County Sheriff's Department

On March 24, 2012, at about 6:00 PM, deputies from the Lockwood Valley Sheriff’s Station responded to a call of automatic gunfire, described as possibly an AK-47, southwest of Curtis Trail, Lockwood Valley.

Responding deputies arrived on scene and also heard the rapid succession of 20 to 30 round bursts of gunfire. The Lockwood Valley deputies drove their 4X4 patrol vehicles on an unmaintained road, in the United States Forest – Mt. Pinos Ranger District, until the road become too narrow to drive any further and proceeded towards the gunfire on foot.

The deputies hiked a quarter to half a mile on foot before discovering three male subjects, four rifles, five handguns, several high capacity magazines (including a 100 round double drum magazine), and hundreds of rounds of unspent ammunition.

During the course of their investigation, deputies discovered three of those rifles were considered assault weapons under California State Law, one of them was believed to be a fully automatic AR-15, and one had a barrel less than nine inches in length. The investigation also revealed one of the handguns was reported stolen in 2004, out of the Los Angeles Police Department’s Van Nuys Division.

Ultimately, (S) Eddy Soto was found to have brought all the rifles, handguns, and ammunition to the location and was arrested for weapons related offenses. (S) Conrado Madrigal was arrested for a Los Angeles County misdemeanor warrant and a third party was released without any pending charges. Both Soto and Madrigal were booked at the Ventura County Main Jail, the weapons and ammunition were confiscated and booked as evidence.

Nature of Incident: Assault Weapons arrest
Report Number: 12-6587
Location: Southwest of Curtis Trail, Lockwood Valley
Date & Time: 03/24/12 at 6:00 PM
Unit Responsible: Lockwood Valley Sheriff’s Station
(S)uspects, (V)ictims, (W)itnesses (D)ecedent City of Residence Age
(S) Eddy Soto, Long Beach, 29
(S) Conrado Madrigal, Ontario, 28
Deputy Preparing Media Release: Sr. Deputy Scott Ramirez #3168
Media Release Date: 03/30/12
Follow-Up Contact: Sr. Deputy Scott Ramirez, (661) 245-3829
Approved by: Capt. O’Hanlon

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).