Photo: Russell Dow
July 28, 2020 – Ventura County
Early on the morning of July 23rd , Ventura County Sheriff’s Department deputies attached to the
Moorpark Police Station responded to a report of a 17-year-old female runaway at risk.
According to VCSD spokesman Sgt. Kevin Lynch, there was a felony warrant for the teen and it
was suspected that she “was being supplied narcotics” by individuals residing in the City of
Moorpark.
Robert Schneider
It was mid-morning on the 23 rd when detectives from the Moorpark Investigations Bureau arrived at the suspect residence “in order to contact the female juvenile.” The owner of the home, 29-year-old Russell Dow was known to detectives as a probationer related to prior convictions on drug and child endangerment charges.
Upon arrival at the residence and prior to the execution of a permitted probation search, on- scene deputies were unexpectedly called away to a reported 911 Emergency situation some distance away.
Responding to that reported location, deputies discovered no emergency at all, leading them to suspect that Dow himself made the 911 call to divert attention away from the search of his residence.
Coty Hackett
Returning to Dow’s residence, verbal commands were issued for all occupants to exit the house. Those orders were defied, whereupon deputies “forcibly entered the residence which had been barricaded by those inside.”
Contact with Dow, 42-year-old Ventura resident Robert Schneider, 24-year-old Thousand Oaks resident Coty Hackett, 19-year-old Thousand Oaks resident Michaela Feczko, and an unidentified 17-year-old female was made.
Michaela Feczko
All five suspects were taken into custody and transported to Ventura County Jail, where they were booked on a variety of charges, including Maintaining a Place where Drugs are Used or Sold, Possession of Methamphetamine for Sale, Providing Methamphetamine to a Juvenile, Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor, Reporting a False Emergency, Obstructing and Investigation, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, and violation of probation terms.
Photos: Courtesy Ventura County Jail Booking
