Photo: Fabian Garibay
Ventura County – The problem with being part of a known criminal street gang is that those sworn to uphold the law and to ensure public safety never seem to forget your name or your face.
Given that reality, one would think that documented gang members would avoid doing things that might draw the attention of cops to their every activity. Carrying a loaded 9mm semi-automatic pistol would be one of those things to avoid.
Garibay’s gun
According to Ventura County Sheriff’s Department spokesman Detective Erik Hernandez, 26-year-old Fillmore resident Fabian Garibay was doing just that late on the afternoon of August 14th.
It was just after 5:00 p.m. when VCSD Gang Unit detectives “were conducting an investigation” into the activities of Garibay, a known affiliate of a criminal street gang operating out of his hometown.
Because Garibay was a focus of law enforcement concern and was suspected of “several crimes” committed throughout Fillmore, Oxnard, and Port Hueneme, the cops had a search warrant in their hands when they contacted him in a residential alleyway in the City of Fillmore.
In the process of searching Garibay’s person, he was found to be in possession of “a loaded handgun, gang indicia, and drug paraphernalia.”
That’s all the cops needed, and Garibay was promptly taken into custody. He was transported to Ventura County Jail, where he was charged with carrying a loaded firearm on one’s person, carrying a concealed firearm, unlawful transfer of a firearm, and receiving stolen property (the gun was determined to have been stolen from a Port Hueneme residence). He remains in custody with his bail set at $105,000.
Photos: Courtesy of Ventura County Sheriff’s Department Gang Unit, Ventura County Jail booking
