Photo: Joshua Posey form Virginia
June 16, 2020 – Ventura County, Ca.
According to Ventura County Sheriff’s Department spokesman Det. Sgt. Victor Medina, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is funding local law enforcement agencies through its Operation Stonegarden for the purposes of “targeting narcotics trafficking and related illegal activities” throughout the county.
Wendy Gibson-Mills
In the early evening hours of June 13th, that operation supported the response of the VCSD Headquarters Patrol response to “a stolen vehicle alert” regarding a purloined motorcycle spotted in the exclusive beachfront area of Oxnard’s Silver Strand community.
Responding deputies soon observed the stolen motorcycle in the bed of a parked pickup truck, and surveillance of the area was initiated by the Sheriff’s Gang and Narcotics Unit.
It didn’t take long for the cops to observe 31-year-old John Wells and 53-year-old Wendy Gibson-Mills, both residents of West Virginia loading items into the pickup truck. A short time later, 39-year-old Virginia resident Joshua Posey joined them and the trio drove away in the vehicle.
John Wells
At that point, “a high-risk stop” of the truck took place and contact with Posey, Wells, and Gibson-Mills quickly lead to the discovery of “a large sum of money,” a loaded handgun, and “marijuana sales indicia.”
The subsequent search of their Oxnard motel room revealed the trio to be in possession of “40 pounds of marijuana” with a street value of “over $500,000” and additional evidence indicating an active inter-state mail order drug business operation.
All three were transported to Ventura County Jail, where Posey was book on charges of Felony Receiving of a Stolen Vehicle, Felony Possession of Marijuana for Sale, Felony Conspiracy to Commit a Crime, and Possession of a Firearm by a Felon, with his bail set at $500,000. Wells and Gibson-Mills were booked on the same charges with their bail set at $400,000 each.
Photos: Courtesy Ventura County Jail Booking
