Photo: Edward Rodriguez and Gilberto Jimenez
Ventura County – The Ventura County Combined Agency Team (VCAT), is a group of crack cops and investigators from the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department, the Oxnard Police Department, and the United States FBI. They’re tasked with taking down what VCSD spokesman Sgt. Robert Davidson described to the media as those involved in “top-level or mid-level” drug trafficking.
The November 22nd arrests of a pair of Arleta residents proves the value of their efforts in interdicting and arresting drug dealers moving significant amounts of controlled substances through their targeted communities. 39-year-old Gilberto Jimenez and 54-year-old Edward Rodriguez had been the subject of “an extensive investigation” that began in August 2019.
Jimenez was the first to come under suspicion for selling methamphetamine to Ventura County Residents. Surveillance soon connected him to Rodriguez and an Arleta residence.
With a search warrant in hand, detectives made contact with and detained both men on the 22nd. During the ensuing search of Rodriguez’s residence, detectives located “approximately eight pounds of methamphetamine and one-half pound of heroin,” amount which—if a Drug Dealer hall of Fame existed—might qualify both men for membership.
Both men were trundled off to Ventura County Jail, where Rodriguez was booked for being a convicted felon in possession of controlled substances for sale and for a $70,000 domestic violence warrant outstanding from the City of Victorville. Jimenez was booked on charges relating to the possession and sale of methamphetamine and heroin. Bail for each was set at $50,000.
Photos: Courtesy Ventura County Jail Booking
