By F. Scott Faulkner
Ventura County, CA
In the pre-dawn hours of November 1, a 911 Emergency call to Ventura County
Sheriff’s Department Dispatch had uniformed patrol deputies responding to a report of
“a disturbance” at a long-term care facility in Thousand Oaks. According to VCSD
spokesman Sgt. Francisco Jauregui, the 4:40 a.m. call reported that “a resident was
agitated, had broken a window and was preventing staff from approaching him.”
Deputies arrived at the convalescent facility and located 58-year-old Thousand Oaks
resident Thomas Buckley. He was promptly detained in a common area of the facility
while staff members went to check on Buckley’s 72-year-old roommate, Michael
Patterson, who was found with severe injuries “consistent with an assault.” Ventura
County Fire Department and AMR paramedics arrived shortly afterward, at which time
Patterson was pronounced dead at the scene.
VCSD detectives from the Major Crimes Bureau took over the
investigation and quickly determined that Buckley had assaulted a facility staff member
before the deputies’ arrival, resulting in minor injuries to the staff member.
Buckley was taken into custody and transported to Ventura County Jail, where was
booked on charges of murder, assault with a deadly weapon, and vandalism. He
remains in custody with his bail set at $2 million.
