Photo: Stock Image
On July 22nd, residents in a Fillmore neighborhood reported a community mailbox had been broken into and several people had their mail stolen. According to Ventura County Sheriff’s Department spokesman Sgt. Jarrod Foote, later that same night one of those mailbox theft victims contacted Sheriff’s Dispatch to report “their credit card had been fraudulently used at a local motel.” Fillmore patrol deputies promptly responded to the motel and found evidence linking the thefts to a suspect vehicle, identifying 45-year-old Moreno Valley, Ca. resident Vanessa Lopez as a person of interest.
Just after midnight on July 23, 2024, patrol personnel located the suspect vehicle in a Fillmore area parking lot. Stealthy VCSD Fillmore Station detectives responded to the scene and maintained surveillance of the vehicle. Not long after, at approximately 2:45 AM, Lopez approached the vehicle in the company of 30-year-old Rialto, Ca. Resident Ryan Araujo. The cops then made their move and “detained Lopez and Araujo near the suspect vehicle.”
A search of the suspect vehicle immediately ensued, leading to the discovery of evidence linking both Lopez and Araujo to the mail and identity thefts. Both suspects were taken into custody and transported to Ventura County Jail, where they were booked on charges of conspiracy to commit a crime, mail theft, fraudulent use of an access card, and identity theft of ten victims or more.
