Shawn Farron and Neil Morales
VENTURA COUNTY — The Ventura County Interagency Pharmaceutical Crimes Unit, comprised of personnel from the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office, the Simi Valley Police Department, the Thousand Oaks Police Department, the California Highway Patrol and at least four additional state agencies, is specifically tasked with controlling the distribution and sales of prescription meds through illegal channels and based upon recent activity throughout the county, they have their work cut out for them.
Evidence of that became apparent on April 5, when, according to VCSD spokesman Sgt. Victor Fazio, Joshua Hart, a 34-year-old Camarillo resident was found dead from a suspected “overdose of prescription pills and heroin,” following a 911 Emergency call that soon had Camarillo Police Department and Ventura County Sheriff’s Major Crimes Bureau detectives on the scene. At that time, the “probably sources of supply” of the lethal drugs was suspected to be 39-year-old Neil Morales of Camarillo.
The investigation over the ensuing three weeks led to the service of a search warrant at Morales’ home on April 26th and a similar warrant search at the residence of Shawn Farron, 38, also from Camarillo. Evidence at the Morales home indicated ongoing drug sales, and Morales was arrested on a charge of sales of controlled substances. At the time of the search of his home, Farron was found to be under the influence of heroin himself, and to have been actively involved in the sale of heroin.
Both Morales and Farron are suspected of complicity in the overdose death of Hart, with charges relating to that death “pending toxicology results and final determination of death.”
Photo: courtesy Ventura County Jail Booking
