August 22, 2021 – Ventura County, Ca.
When Ventura County Sheriff’s Department deputies attached to the Ojai Police Station received a call for service to a home in the unincorporated community of Oak View on June 21, 2021, it was a case of “too little, too late.” Upon entering the residence, the deputies discovered the lifeless body of a victim of a fatal fentanyl overdose.
According to VCSD spokesman Sgt. John Hajducko, detectives on the Pharmaceutical Crimes Unit and the Major Crimes Bureau immediately got to work to determine who had supplied the fentanyl to the victim. Their investigation eventually brought Ventura resident Darren Lewis to their attention.
Nearly two months later, on August 18 th , detectives caught up with Lewis as he and Oak View resident Jason Perry were in the act of “conducting a drug transaction” on an Oxnard City residential street. Making contact with both suspects, the cops took both men into custody on the scene.
With search warrant in hand, detectives then made a visit to Lewis’ residence where they discovered “evidence related to the original narcotics sale which caused the Oak View death” as well as a quantity of fentanyl, Alprazolam, and U.S. currency that indicated an active and ongoing illegal drug selling operation.
Lewis and Perry were both transported to Ventura County Jail. Lewis was booked on charges of possession for sales of a controlled substance and sales of a controlled substance, with his bail set at $55,000. For his part, Perry was cited for possession of a controlled substance and was released on his own recognizance.
Photo: Courtesy Ventura County Sheriff’s Department Pharmaceutical Crimes Unit
