Photo: Jorge Garcia
June 1, 2020 – Ventura County – An investigation that consumed the interest of the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department Gang Unit and Headquarters Investigation Bureau for the past eight weeks came to a head on May 27th with the arrests of Oxnard residents Brandie Macias, 24, Vanessa Zuniga, 25, Jorge Garcia, 26, and Javier Rincon, 32.
Macias
It all began in April, 2020 with multiple incidences of thievery from residences and mailboxes throughout Oxnard’s beach communities.
According to VCSD spokesman Det. Sgt. Victor Medina, detectives were soon deep into an investigation involving “theft of mail, mail packages, identity theft, and forgery.” That investigation picked up steam when a routine traffic stop of a vehicle driven by Rincon—with Garcia and Macias as passengers—lead to the discovery of “numerous items of stolen property.”
Rincon
Among the evidence found in the vehicle during that traffic stop, stolen license plates, forged checks, blank checks, and a printer all pointed toward the trio’s involvement in multiple crimes of property and identity theft.
At that time, Rincon, Garcia, and Macias were all booked on multiple charges of theft and possession of controlled substances and were subsequently released.
Zuniga
But a month later, on May 27th, detectives obtained a search warrant for the vehicle and residence of Macias. It was served upon her as she and Zuniga were driving through Oxnard pursuant to a second traffic stop.
Inside Macias’ vehicle, the cops found “additional items of stolen property” including further evidence of recent mail thefts and identity theft. Both Macias and Zuniga were taken into custody and transported to Ventura County Jail, where they were booked on charges of Identity Theft, Forgery, Possession of Stolen Property, and Conspiracy.
Photos: Courtesy Ventura County Jail Booking
