Photo: Mason Michael Webb
May 2, 2021 – Ventura County, Ca.
While the current state of digital communication via email may not provide the ultimate in privacy and security of personal data, it may well be considered far more secure than good old- fashioned snail mail. Certainly the circumstances surrounding the April 29th arrest of Newbury Park resident Mason Michael Webb supports that contention.
The arrest of Webb followed a four-month-long investigation into a series of residential mail thefts that came to the attention of law enforcement in late December, 2020. According to Ventura County Sheriff’s Department spokesman Det. Sgt. Kevin Lynch, as reports of mail theft began to flood in from the Santa Rosa Valley area of Ventura County, detectives attached to the Moorpark Police Department soon identified their suspect as “a white male in his 40s, driving an older black Jaguar sedan.”
With that specific identification at hand, in the pre-dawn hours of February 17th , detectives responded to a 911 Emergency Call reporting someone driving a black Jaguar pilfering mail from residential mail boxes. Responding to the reported scene with all due alacrity, detectives soon found themselves in a hot pursuit of the suspect vehicle at speeds “exceeding 120 mph.”
Hesitating to further endanger the motoring public, detectives “terminated the pursuit.” But the very next day, detectives learned that the Jaguar had been abandoned on the campus of California State University Channel Islands. Responding to that location, detectives discovered the vehicle and found “several pieces of evidence” that established the identity of the driver as Webb.
On April 28th , detectives learned that Webb had been arrested and released on his own recognizance in Los Angeles pursuant to “a minor weapons violation.” Then, using “additional investigative techniques,” detectives located Webb driving through Simi Valley and conducted a vehicle stop, ultimately taking him into custody.
Webb was transported to Ventura County jail where he was booked on charges of mail theft, felony vehicle pursuit, driving while under the influence of a controlled substance, and possession of drug paraphernalia, with his bail set at $250,000.
Photo: Courtesy Ventura County Jail Booking
