Photo: Stock Image
By F. Scott Faulkner
Ventura County, CA —
A suspected stolen vehicle and commercial burglary operation came to an abrupt halt on
November 22 with the arrest of 23-year-old Compton, Ca. resident Joel Quinonez and his 16-
year-old juvenile accomplice.
According to Ventura County Sheriff’s Department spokesman Sgt. Dillan Alvarez, the
investigation into Quinonez’s activities began in October when a Dodge Ram Hellcat TRX was
reported stolen in Ventura County’s Oak Park community, “with additional attempts to steal
similar vehicles” reported in Thousand Oaks during the same time period.
Detectives working the case attached to the VCSD East County Special Enforcement Unit,
Ventura County Auto Theft Task Force, Ventura County Sheriff’s Technical Support Unit, and
the Fillmore Bureau of Investigation discovered that nearby jurisdictions, including the Los
Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and LAPD, were also “experiencing thefts of similar
vehicles.” With evidence pointing to a pattern of rear window break-ins targeting high-
performance trucks. Ventura County investigators eventually identified Quinonez and his 16-
year-old male juvenile accomplice as suspects in the thefts.
While the auto theft case was ongoing, on November 20, 2024, “commercial property
surveillance footage” captured three individuals—one of whom was Quinonez’s car thief
protégé—burglarizing “four businesses in Thousand Oaks and one in Los Angeles County”
during early morning hours and stealing cash.
Search warrants executed on November 22 recovered evidence connecting Quinonez and the
juvenile to the crimes. Quinonez was taken into custody and arrested at his residence, while the
juvenile was apprehended “after a brief foot chase” near his home.
Quinonez was booked into the Ventura County Jail on charges of felony unlawful taking of a
vehicle, conspiracy to commit a crime, possession of burglary tools, and an outstanding felony
warrant for vehicle theft in Orange County, with his bail is set at $350,000.
