Ventura County – In what can only be described as a frightening trend toward increased levels of violence between warring gang factions on public streets, an increasing number of arrests are occurring involving the illegal possession of loaded firearms.
Whether these arrests are the result of heightened levels of law enforcement activity, or due to the increasing severity of violence among street criminals – approaching fictional episodes purveyed in today’s “action movies” – remains a chicken-and-egg question begging for answers. Exemplary of the problem was the arrest of Jose Martin Herrera, a bespectacled 26-year old, on April 23rd, pursuant to the Fillmore Police Department’s gang suppression efforts to interdict in local area gun trafficking and to suppress the street violence plaguing the area.
According to Fillmore Police Department spokesman Sgt. Kevin Vaden, funding under a California Gang Reduction Intervention Program grant supports the local law enforcement efforts to control illegal gang activity. Under the auspices of that program, it was in the early evening hours of Saturday, April 23rd when patrolling FPD deputies “made contact” with Herrera on a city street and quickly determined that he was in possession of a loaded handgun. As a convicted felon, Herrera is a “prohibited person”, and was promptly taken into custody without incident.
Further investigation indicated that the gun taken from Herrera had been reported as stolen from the neighboring community of Piru a year prior. Given the evidence collected at the scene and Herrera’s criminal background, he was transported to Ventura County Jail where he was booked on charges of carrying a loaded firearm in public, carrying a concealed firearm, being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, illegal transfer of a firearm, and participation in a criminal street gang. He’s currently held on a no-bail hold.
Photo: Courtesy Ventura County Jail Booking
