Ventura County – Ventura County encompasses a vast array of environments and their attendant cultures, from sparkling beaches that attract surfers from the world over to lush valleys that serve as spiritual retreats high above the bustling cities of Ventura and Camarillo to the crime-ridden enclaves of Oxnard and Port Hueneme, from when come an inordinate percentage of the area’s criminal “element”.
That “element” occasionally migrates from the flatlands of Oxnard into the tranquil groves of Ojai, clearly ignoring the area’s call to tranquil meditation and spiritual connection. Such appears to have been the case on August 24th, when a residential burglary was reported to have taken place in downtown Ojai in which numerous items of personal property—including jewelry, computers, and credit cards—were plundered.
The ensuing investigation by Ventura County Sheriff’s Department detectives assigned to the Ojai Patrol Station, “working with detectives from the Ventura Police Department,” as described by VCSD spokesman Sgt. Kevin Donoghue, led to the identification of Frank Morales, 29, and Mellissa Camarillo, 31, respectively residents of Port Hueneme and Camarillo. The principal evidence leading to their identification was produced as a result of their using their newly purloined credit cards to make retail purchases in the City of Ventura.
Melissa Carrillo
Four days later, investigators became aware that Morales was “the focus of a parallel investigation by the Oxnard and Port Hueneme Police Departments related to a separate burglary,” Donoghue reported. Port Hueneme, being something less than a metropolis, is a city where many residents are known to law enforcement, and on August 28th Morales was spotted on a public thoroughfare. A short foot pursuit ensued, and Morales was arrested at the same time Carrillo was herself located in the City of Camarillo.
Both Morales and Carrillo were transported to Ventura County Jail where they were each booked on charges of forgery, burglary, possession of stolen property, and conspiracy.
Photos: Courtesy Ventura County Jail Booking
Read more:
Citizens Journal: Two arrested for robbery in Ojai
VCSTAR: Two arrested after Ojai burglary
