Ventura County Sheriff's Department

Two men were arrested for stabbing a victim causing major, but non-life threatening injuries. The injuries required extensive suturing to close the wounds. One of the men arrested is a known Fillmore gang member.

On March 20, 2021 at 7:00 pm, deputies responded to a family disturbance in the 800 block of Blaine Avenue in Fillmore. Deputies located evidence that a fight had just occurred at a family gathering. At one point, two suspects attacked the victim with a knife. Prior to deputies arriving on scene, the suspects’ fled, and the victim was transported to a nearby hospital by ambulance for medical treatment.

Detectives located additional evidence and witnesses identifying the suspects as Alfred A. Chaveste and Nicholas Guevara. Guevara is a known Fillmore gang member and a convicted felon who currently resides in the area of Bakersfield. Chaveste is a resident of Fillmore.

On April 6, 2021, detectives located and arrested Chaveste in the 700 block of Akers Street in Fillmore. Additional evidence was collected pertaining to the crime and Chaveste was taken into custody. Chaveste was subsequently booked into custody at the Pre-Trial Detention Facility for Assault with a deadly weapon and Criminal Conspiracy. Chaveste was released from jail after posting bail which was set at $30,000.

On April 20, 2021, detectives served a search warrant at Guevara’s residence located in the 4200 block of Charter Oaks Avenue in Bakersfield. During the service of the search warrant, additional evidence was located linking him to this crime. In addition, a Glock 9mm handgun with loaded gun magazines were located in Guevara’s bedroom. The handgun was seized as evidence due to the fact Guevara is prohibited from possessing weapons because of his prior felony conviction.

Guevara was taken into custody and he was subsequently booked at the Ventura County Pre Trial Detention Facility for Assault with a deadly weapon and Criminal Conspiracy. Guevara remains in custody with his bail set at $30,000. His next court date is set for April 22, 2021.

Anyone with information pertaining to this crime is urged to contact Detective Salas at the below listed number. The reporting party may remain anonymous.

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 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.

Prepared by: Sergeant William 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).

Emily Randles, aka Emily Gholson, 32, Santa Paula.

32-year-old Santa Paula resident was arrested for stealing mail, attempting to cash stolen checks, and possession of several “washed” checks.

On April 19, at approximately 4:00 p.m., deputies responded to a report of a theft of mail in the 12000 Block of Koenigstein Road, Santa Paula, Ca. The victim reported that his outgoing mail was stolen from his mailbox, included in the stolen mail was an envelope that contained a check. After the theft, the victim’s bank alerted him that someone attempted to fraudulently cash the stolen check.

The Fillmore Detective Bureau quickly followed up on this case. Detectives were able to identify the suspect as Emily Randles also known as Emily Gholson, a resident of Santa Paula. Randles has a history of theft and drug related arrests.
On April 23, Detectives contacted and arrested Randles in the city of Ventura. At the time of her arrest, Randles was in possession of several folders containing blank check stock, stolen credit cards, additional stolen checks, and illegal photocopies of legal tender (bills).

Randles was taken into custody for several felonies and was subsequently booked at the Pre-Trial Detention Facility for Identity Theft, Possession of Stolen Property, and Forgery. Randles remains in custody with her bail set at $50,000. Her next court date is set for 04/27/2021.

Anyone with information pertaining to crimes of this nature are urged to contact Detective Salas at the below listed number. The reporting party may remain anonymous.

The Fillmore Police Department encourages citizens to report suspicious people and vehicles, and to 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.

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.

Please remember that Postal Inspectors across the country work hard to protect your mail. However, with deliveries to more than 100 million addresses, the Postal Inspection Service cannot do the job alone. You can protect your mail from thieves by remembering to pick up your mail promptly after delivery. Do not leave it in your mailbox overnight. If you are expecting checks, credit cards, or other negotiable items, ask a trusted friend or neighbor to pick up your mail. This diligence will assist in the prevention of becoming a victim of identity theft.

If you see or suspect a mail thief at work, or if you believe your mail was stolen, call police immediately 9-1-1, then call Postal Inspectors at 877-876-2455 and (press 3) or visit the below link.

www.postalinspectors.uspis.gov/investigations/mailfraud/fraudschemes/mai...

Prepared by: Detective Sergeant William 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).

Live in the Heritage Valley (Santa Paula, Fillmore, Piru) and need a ride to get your COVID vaccine? For a limited time, Valley Express is offering FREE rides on their Dial-A-Ride service to your vaccination appointment. Simply call 805-933-2267 to schedule your DAR trip after you secure your appointment. This service is not available for drive through vaccine appointments. Courtesy County of Ventura Facebook Page.

Ventura County Sheriff's Department

The Fillmore Police Department will be hosting a program to educate newly licensed and future licensed drivers. Start Smart is a cooperative effort between the California Highway Patrol, Fillmore Police Department, teenage drivers, and their parents.

In an attempt to remain proactive and not reactive, the Start Smart Program is designed to help young drivers and their parents/guardians understand the responsibilities associated with driving a motor vehicle. Start Smart will show how a poor choice behind the wheel can change the lives of everyone involved. Our goal is to raise awareness and reduce the number of teen-related injuries and deaths due to collisions.

Interested parents are asked to call the Fillmore Police Department at 805-524-2233 or email RobertG.Thomas@Ventura.org for more information and to make a reservation; space is limited. There is no charge to attend the program.

Due to Covid-19 health and safety guideline, this course will be offered online, via Microsoft Teams. Parents/child will have the ability to participate in the class from the safety of their homes and still be able to interact with the deputies presenting the course. This course will also be available in Spanish during the same allotted date/time as mentioned above.

The Fillmore Police Department would like to thank the Fillmore Unified School District and Fillmore High School administration for their assistance so that students may use school-issued laptops to attend the class. The funding for this program is being provided by a grant issued from the California’s Office of Traffic Safety (OTS).

Nature of Incident: Start Smart Driving Education Class
Location: Online course via Microsoft Teams
Date & Time: May 1, 2021 / 12:00 PM – 2:00 PM
Unit(s) Responsible: Fillmore Patrol Services
Prepared by: Deputy Robert Thomas / Deputy Jamal Labbe
Approved by: Captain Garo Kuredjian

Enlarge Photo

Enlarge Photo

Enlarge Photo

Enlarge Photo

Courtesy Fillmore Historical Museum

Do you remember the earthquake? For most in Fillmore that question would seem to refer to the 1994 Northridge Earthquake which devasted our downtown area, leaving vacant lots seen even today. But that was by no means the only quake to cause damage to our town.

July 12, 1952, at 4:52 am, the Tehachapi Quake hit in a series of waves which lasted in diminishing strength for nearly 45 minutes. The damage here in Fillmore was noticeable but relatively light. There was firewall damage on roof at 340-340 1/2 Central Avenue (formerly Ragtyme Station). Ballard Furniture at 348 Central Ave. was also damaged.

The train line through Fillmore suddenly became important once more after the Tehachapi quake. Train tunnels were caved in, the Ridge Route was blocked by a king-sized landslide. Trains were diverted through Fillmore for a time while the tracks were repaired.

Fifty years ago, on February 9, 1971, a strong earthquake measuring 6.5 on the Richter Scale occurred in the Sylmar area of the San Fernando Valley. The shocks caused the upstairs wall of the Briggs Hardware Building (first known as Chili Franklin’s Pool Hall and Dance Hall when it was built in 1910) at 340 Central, to ripple and a large 70-foot chunk of bricks fell onto the roof of Martha’s, a dress shop just north at 344 Central (now Genesis Hair). An eye-witness later said when the brick mass hit Martha’s, the impact collapsed the roof and blew out the front windows.

The store at 344 Central had to be rebuilt. The second story of 340 Central was so badly damaged it was removed. The second story had been a dance hall. The floor was left intact and is believed to still be there to this very day as part of a double ceiling.

The Fillmore Hotel and the Filmore Citrus Association Packing House at A and Sespe had cracks in walls, but nothing major. Although the Fillmore Hotel survived the 1971 quake, In the 1994 quake it was destroyed.

Luckily, and perhaps surprisingly, none of the school buildings suffered and damage from the 1971 quake. Several had already been taken out of service as class rooms under the Field Act which had been passed in 1933 after the Long Beach Earthquake, mandating that school buildings must be earthquake-resistant. Even these were not significantly damaged.

As expected all the grocery stores in town had major clean up to do after the1971 quake. Aisles had to be cleaned as jars were thrown from shelves and damaged canned and boxed goods had to be disposed of. Enterprising high school students picked up some spare pocket money helping the store owners.

Neither of these earthquakes were as devastating to our community and the 1994 Northridge Quake, but it’s good to remember that the 1994 quake was not an anomaly. We live in earthquake country and we are sure to have another one. The question is just when.

Scott Vargen, 42, Fillmore.

A check the wellbeing call results in the arrest of a 42-year-old Fillmore man for various weapons violations.

On April 16, 2021, deputies received a call that Scott Vargen had been acting and talking in a bizarre manner. Deputies were told that Vargen had made statements about visualizing things and having messages sent to him. The reporting party was concerned about Vargen’s mental health wellbeing and notified law enforcement.

Although the reporting party’s concern for Vargen’s wellbeing needed to be investigated, there was no immediate or imminent threat to the public. Deputies had the time to develop a plan, which included contacting the Ventura County Mental Health Crisis Intervention Team and requested their assistance. The Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) and deputies collaborated and conducted an investigation regarding these statements and behavior exhibited by Vargen.

Deputies and CIT went to Vargen’s residence and spoke with him about his bizarre statements and behavior. During the interview, deputies learned that Vargen recently purchased several firearms. The deputies were able to inspect these firearms and determined one of the firearms was an illegal assault rifle. Vargen was in possession of several high capacity pistol and rifle magazines, in violation of California weapons regulations.

Deputies arrested Vargen for PC 32310 Possession of High Capacity Magazines and PC 30605(a) Possession of an Assault Rifle. Vargen was booked at the Ventura County Main in lieu of $30,000.00 bail.

The Fillmore Police Department would like to take this opportunity to express to the public if you see or hear something that is out of place or just not right, please say something. The adage of “See Something. Say Something.” relates to many different facets of our life. The Fillmore Police Department has access to many different resources and we can provide people with contacts to access those resources.

Report Number: 21-50260
Location: 200 Block of Primrose Street, Fillmore 93015
Date & Time: April 16, 2021 @ 2:40 PM
Unit(s) Responsible: Fillmore Police Department Patrol Services, Ventura County Mental Health Crisis Intervention Team
(S)uspects, (V)ictims, (P)arty, (D)ecedent, City of Residence, Age
Scott Vargen, Fillmore, 42
Prepared by: Sergeant Daniel Blanck
Approved by: Captain Garo Kuredjian

Close up of some of the many flowers blooming in Alumni Park this year.
Enlarge Photo

Fillmore Civic Pride presented FHS Alumni Park the March 2021 "Yard of the Month." They received a $40 gift certificate from sponsors Otto & Sons Nursery located at 1835 Guiberson Rd. in Fillmore.

“Alumni Park is a gathering place for Fillmore High School Alumni," Mark Ortega, the president of the FHS Alumni, said. It is located at 559 Sespe Ave. right next door to the FHS Alumni office.

According to Mark, currently featured in the garden are tall flowering stocks of delphiniums, fox gloves, Hollyhocks, and others. "All the daffodils were planted between Thanksgiving and Christmas of last year. They are all blooming at this time along with the other plants and flowers," he said. The entrance to the garden features a cute, white picket door.

"We encourage the communities of Fillmore, Piru, Rancho Sespe, Bardsdale and especially our alumni to open our gates and come in and take photos. Alumni Park was created by our Fillmore High Alumni, for our Fillmore High Alumni. However, we hope all those who live in our beautiful surroundings can stop by enjoy the beautiful flowers and plants. Thank you again for awarding us Yard of the Month! We are honored," Mark said.

For more information on Fillmore Civic Pride please call 805.794.7590 or email: petenari55@hotmail.com.

Barnstormers at "Basolo field" circa 1917.
Enlarge Photo

Basolo field" circa 1946.
Enlarge Photo

Aerial Picture of Fillmore taken by Edith Moore Jarrett, 1928.
Enlarge Photo

Edith Moore Jarrett disembarking in Dublin, September 1956.
Enlarge Photo

Courtesy Fillmore History Museum

After the First World War, a new phenomenon swept the United States – Barnstormers. Men, who often had learned to fly during the war, traveled the country doing aerobatics, showing the skill of the pilot and the sturdiness of the airplane. Frequently these barnstormers were employed by aircraft manufacturers.

That was the case in August of 1919 when the first barnstormer came to Fillmore. Lieut. Arnold Popic was an “aerial demonstrator” for the Zenith Aviation Company. The August 8, 1919 Herald reported that Lt. Popic had arrived the prior Wednesday “floating gracefully over the city” in his open cockpit machine and landed in a field to the west of the Sespe bridge. Two tickets for flights had been sold, one to C. C. Bufkin and one to John Opsahl. Mr. Bufkin took the first flight. Unfortunately, the field had not been prepared properly and the plane struck a deep gully and “its snoot plowed in the opposite bank.” Neither Mr. Bufkin nor Lt. Popic were injured but the plane was damaged to the point it could not fly without repairs.

The next week the following ad ran in the paper:
“Fly in the air like a bird. Lieut. Popic is here with a brand-newmachine. Flights made from Basolo field today, Saturday and Sunday. Get you tickets at the White Garage.”

Basolo field was a recently mown alfalfa field, located just south of the Bardsdale Bridge. Tickets were $10 for a 10-minute ride and it was reported that 53 tickets were sold for the three days, with the understanding Mr. Bufkin and Mr. Opsahl would get the first flights. For an extra charge, a customer like Homer Cheek, the manager of Rancho Sespe, could take the stunt flight which included flying upside down, along with dips, dives and spins. You could also pay extra to fly higher, up to 3500 feet.

It was not just the men who took flight, several women including Edith Moore, age 21, and Hortense Wood, age 14.

It is clear that this event and others like it inspired many folks in Fillmore to take up flight – either as pilots, or like Edith Jarrett, becoming world travelers.

The news reports didn’t mention whether Betty Elkins, daughter of C. C. Elkins, Jr, and granddaughter of C. C. Elkins, took one of these flights in August of 1919. But according to a story in the May 21st, 2008 issue of the Gazette, Betty became interested in flying at the age of 9 when she won a ride in a Curtiss Jenny by selling magazine subscriptions. In 1929, she married a stunt pilot, Fred Lund, who was World Aerobatic Champion in 1930. Lund taught the former Betty Elkins to fly, and she soon set the woman’s record for doing sixty-seven barrel rolls in twenty-eight minutes.

When Lund was killed while competing in a pylon race in Kentucky, Betty took over his appearance contracts and eventually began barnstorming on her own.By the end of the 1930s she was one of the leading stunt pilots in the country. During World War II she served as a WAF transporting airplanes from the West Coast production plants to the East Coast for transport to Europe.

Some young people were not content with flying the machines, some wanted to build them too. Two high school students, Don Shaw and Edward “Ebbie” Wileman, built a glider about 1931. No one expected it to fly but fly it did. Unfortunately, it was destroyed in a windstorm.

Fillmore’s first airstrip was created in 1928, just east of town and south of the highway, near the current fish hatchery. The area had been swept clean of vegetation by the St. Francis Dam flood. The oil from the Ventura Refinery (later Texaco) was poured on the future runway, covered in sand, disked in and the steps repeated. After compacting by driving heavy trucks over it, the airfield was ready. Many Fillmoreians learned to fly on this strip. This strip was eventually abandoned with the Depression and World War II.

Before it went out of service, L. E. Hammond announced the opening of a complete aircraft and engine service. To help advertise his new venture, he flew his own plane under the Bardsdale Bridge, with several inches to spare above and below.

Despite not having a formal airfield, airplanes did insist on landing at Fillmore. The story is told of one dark, rainy evening residents hearing the sound of a large plane circling the town. No one is sure how the word got out but within minutes a line of automobiles hurried out of town to a likely flat spot and divided into two rows of bright headlights, one on each side of the impromptu runway, to guide the pilot in. Through the rain a Lockheed Electra made a three-point landing with five terrified passengers. Apparently, the plane had left Bakersfield for Burbank and had gotten lost.

After World War II there was renewed interest in having an airport and a new airfield opened near where that first barnstorming plane landed in 1919 and once again became known as Basolo Field, but never received support from the town fathers so lasted only a few years.

German Evangelical Church Bardsdale 1890.
Enlarge Photo

Bardsdale Methodist Church 1912.
Enlarge Photo

Fillmore Methodist Church circa 1912.
Enlarge Photo

Sespe Church circa 1916
Enlarge Photo

Old Sespe Church (now a restaurant) in 1930.
Enlarge Photo

Fillmore 1st Methodist Church circa 1988.
Enlarge Photo

Willow Grove School, also a church meeting place.
Enlarge Photo

Courtesy Fillmore Historical Museum

Religion and spiritual support were always a major factor in the lives of our earliest pioneers. Those first brave settlers initially looked to itinerant circuit riders who had also moved west as the United States expanded. Most of Fillmore’s early churches were organized under the live oak trees of Kenney Grove. Thus Sespe may be regarded as the birthplace of the churches in the east end Ventura County.

In 1873, the first Sunday School in the Santa Clara River Valley was organized by families living near Cienega (the current location of the Fillmore fish hatchery). This was a location on the wagon road to the coast and initially a stage stop. The first services were held by a Baptist preacher, Reverend Riley, with music supplied by Mrs. Sam Guiberson. The first major milestone in the life of the church was a celebration of our nation’s founding on July 4th 1876. The Reverend John Warner Guiberson led the services with both the Sespe and Santa Paula Choirs performing. At the time there was no church building on the Sespe but there was already a Sunday school and Ladies Aid group.

By 1884 the Cienega church group had disbanded and the local Methodists were meeting either at the Sespe school house on the corner of Muir St. and Sespe Ave (now Grand Ave) or at Willow Grove School on the south side of the river. The preacher was Rev. Wilhite. In the 1890s the Sespe Methodist Episcopal Church was built near Muir St. and Grand Ave. (over time the Methodist Episcopal churches would drop the Episcopal designation).

The original Sespe School house was moved several times from its original location on the banks of the Sespe River. Its first move was to the banks of the Santa Clara River near the current bridge crossing from Bardsdale. It was later moved back to the Sespe and then into Fillmore where it was located on the south west corner of Central and Sespe St. where first it was used as a drugstore with a residence in the back and later a restaurant. There it remained until the 1930s when it burned down in a late night fire.

In 1887, before the arrival of David C. Cook in Piru, the Methodist congregation met in a schoolhouse near the mouth of Piru Canyon on Main St. Cook had come west from Elgin, Illinois, for his health. He had been very successful as a publisher of Sunday School literature and was deeply religious. He was the founder of Piru and the son of a Methodist minister. Initially he hosted church services under the live oaks in his own yard. He paid for the building of the Piru Methodist Episcopal church and also built the Piru Mansion, his home. Both still stand. He also planned to develop a replica of the Holy Land in Piru Canyon. But his health improved and he returned to Illinois. The olive trees growing along the road to Piru Lake are the only remnants of his Holy Land project.

Bardsdale in 1890 was mostly dry land farming where the early farmers grew beans, potatoes and raised cattle and sheep. The 1890s also saw the development of an oil industry. Some of the first settlers were German immigrants. Among them were Haases, Bartels and Baldeschweilers (later Balden). They built a small German Evangelical church which also served as a school house. Services began in 1892 and were in German in the morning and English in the afternoon. The small building still stands on Owen St. in Bardsdale though it has been remodeled and moved.

In 1887, Royce Surdam purchased 1,599 acres south of the Santa Clara River and platted out the city of Bardsdale. The development was approved by Ventura County and he proceeded to sell the land for homes. Within the plat plan there were lots for houses, stores, churches and schools. But, plans were almost immediately derailed by the coming of the railroad on the north side of the river. Try as he could, Surdam could not sell the lots for houses so he began to sell land to the immigrant farmers for agricultural purposes. The only buildings built were the Bardsdale School and Bardsdale Methodist Episcopal Church both of which still stand today. The church is still an active Methodist Church and the school is now a private home. Both can be seen on Bardsdale Ave and Ventura St. The Methodist church was built in 1898 and still has an active congregation today.

In 1910 the Fillmore Methodists met in Fillmore’s Stephens Hall (located on the alley behind Stephens Store – now La Estrella Market) to discuss the organization of Fillmore Methodist Episcopal Church. Their first Church building was built in 1913. The first service was on Dec. 20, 1912, but the building was not finished and there were no chairs – they had to borrow some. In 1957, ground was broken for a social hall. Once that building was finished the old wooden church was taken down and a new church building built. The church and social hall are now owned by One Step A La Vez. The former social hall now serves as their activity center.

The history of Methodism in valley parallels the history of the pioneers and their families and the history of our part of the Santa Clara River Valley.