Items Seized by Officers | Courtesy of VCSD Gang Unit
Ventura County, CA – When it comes to free advise for erstwhile felons, none might be more valuable than don’t drive around with guns in your car.
That admonition was either ignored or not taken to heart by 36-year-old Jacob Escobedo, known to the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department Gang Unit (SGU) as a current parolee pursuant to his prior felony convictions on firearms and narcotics violations.
According to VCSD spokesman Senior Deputy Matt Smith, the SGU—“comprised of eight detectives who focus on protecting communities by actively investigating illegal firearm activities”—began a surreptitious oversight into Escobedo’s dealings related to the possibility that he was actively engaged in affairs having to do with guns and drugs, both of which are serious no-no’s for someone with his criminal background.
When they could no longer suppress their suspicions, SGU detectives recruited Fillmore Patrol deputies to conduct a “routine traffic stop” as Escobedo cruised down a City of Fillmore thoroughfare. Once contact with him was made, Escobedo was reminded of the search terms associated with his parole status and the cops summarily proceeded to conduct an investigation “of his person and vehicle.”
That search turned up a pair of loaded “ghost guns” and “a small amount of marijuana,” all
proscribed items under his status as a parolee. He was then taken into custody and and transported to Ventura County Jail on December 20th, where he remains in custody on a no-bail hold.
by Robert L. McCullough
Photo: Courtesy VCSD Gang Unit
