Photo: Stock Image
In a series of events reminiscent of the bygone days portrayed by actors Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway as the lead characters in the award-winning film Bonny & Clyde, persistent efforts by multiple divisions of the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department have finally caught up with and apprehended 38-year-old Woodland Hills resident George Rand Akrey and his 30-year-old cohort in evasion, Kierstyn Robinson.
This adventure in cat-and-mouse mayhem began in February 2022 when Akrey—who had already done jail time on no fewer than 21 grand theft charges—was granted bail by the court. According to VCSD spokesman Det. Sgt. Jason Karol, Akrey didn’t manage to show up for his April 2022 court date, whereupon “five felony warrants and one misdemeanor warrant” were issued.
At that point, the hunt for Akrey was on. Just a month later, detectives found Akrey hiding out in the Lancaster area and conducted an “apprehension attempt” which turned into a violent scene worthy of an action-film. Rather than surrender, Akrey “used a large truck to ram a detective vehicle,” injuring a cop and making a clean getaway.
Additional arrest warrants ensued, but it took detectives a full year to understand Akrey’s skills at using stolen identities and disguises, “including changing hair styles and colors” to avoid capture. Throughout 2023, Robinson “was actively hiding Akrey from law enforcement and aiding his effort to stay concealed.”
But on January 4th of this year, the adventure came to an end as detectives from the Thousand Oaks Investigation Bureau, the Major Crimes Bureau, and the Directed Enforcement Unit caught up with Akrey in Woodland Hills. As the cops attempted to take him into custody, Akrey once again “used his vehicle to ram two detective vehicles,” forcing the cops to use “a series of less-than-lethal options” which ultimately subdued him.
Akrey was taken into custody and transported to Ventura County Jail, where he remains in custody on a no-bail hold facing additional charges of assault with a deadly weapon on a peace officer. Later the same day, Robinson was caught in the City of Simi Valley and taken into custody. She currently resides in Ventura County Jail with her bail set at $10,000.
