Photo: Stock Image
On the afternoon of July 17th, deputies from the Camarillo Police Station responded to two vehicle burglaries in which multiple suspects forcibly entered victims’ vehicles, and one grand theft incident at a retail department store involving the theft of merchandise valued at over $4,000.
According to Ventura County Sheriff’s Department spokesman Detective Kris Doepking, witness reports indicated that a white Ford F150 pickup truck was involved in all of these crimes. A “concerned citizen” observed the same Ford F150 in a suspicious manner at a parking lot, took photographs of the truck’s license plate and driver, and shared this crucial evidence with the investigating deputies.
It was quickly determined that the pickup truck had been stolen in Bakersfield, with recent sightings within the city of Thousand Oaks. This information was immediately broadcast to all patrol units and “within eight minutes” deputies spotted the Ford heading northbound on a nearby US 101 interchange. An enforcement stop was attempted, but the suspects summarily evaded the deputies “at reckless speeds, employing all available lanes, including the shoulder of the freeway.”
At that point, VCSD’s aerial units flew into action providing surveillance of the suspect vehicle as it careened down the freeway. Moments later, the suspects diverted from the freeway and charged up a dirt embankment before crashing into a chain-link fence. Bakersfield residents Charles Smith, 42, Ashley Aulston, 34, and Daryl Boggan, 32, were then taken into custody without further adieu. All three were transported to Ventura County Jail, where they were charged with multiple counts of conspiracy, vehicle burglary, grand theft, evasion, and vehicle theft.
Aulston posted bail of $150,000 and as been released from custody while Boggan and Smith remain in custody on no-bail holds on their prior pending arrest warrants.
