by Cindy Summers
Police reports are provided to us by the Ventura Police Department and are not the opinions of the Ventura Breeze. All suspects mentioned are assumed to be innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
Armed Robbery Arrest
On July 19 at 9:40pm, the victim was sitting in his vehicle in the parking lot of Skating Plus when the suspects drove up in a vehicle. They approached the victim and then started reaching into his vehicle and taking some of his personal property. When he protested, one suspect produced a handgun, pointed it at the victim, and took his valuables. The suspects fled the area and the victim was able to enter Skating Plus to get help and call 9-1-1.
Responding officers obtained detailed suspect information and quickly determined a possible suspect. Investigative leads resulted in officers locating the suspects in the Downtown area of Ventura. The suspects of the robbery were identified as 31 year old Santa Paula resident Terry Stephenson and 19 year old Oxnard resident Alexander Duarte, and they were found to be in possession of the victim’s property that had been stolen during the robbery.
Stephenson was arrested for Robbery, Felon in Possession of a Firearm, Felon in Possession of Ammunition, and Possession of a Stolen Firearm. Duarte was arrested for Robbery. Both suspects were booked at the Ventura County Jail.
Recovered Stolen Vehicle and Arrest
On July 19 at 3:25pm, the Ventura Police Department Command Center received a call from the victim of a stolen vehicle reporting that a relative saw the vehicle driving in the area of the 2600 block of E. Main St. Officers responded and began checking the area, ultimately finding it parked in a parking lot to the rear of Auto Zone store. One officer detained a subject, later identified as 36 year old vagrant Jason Sevier, standing next to the vehicle.
A second subject, later identified as 31 year old Andrew Renteria, fled on foot when he saw the officers patrol vehicle approaching. Additional officers began searching for Renteria, and found him several blocks away in a neighborhood and he was detained.
At the end of the investigation, Sevier was arrested and booked into the Ventura County Jail for possession of a stolen vehicle. Renteria, who was determined to be the passenger in the vehicle, was arrested and booked into the Ventura County Jail for being in possession of stolen property and providing a false name to a police officer.
Vehicle Pursuit
On July 20 at 11:30am, an officer on patrol observed a known wanted felon driving in the area of Darling Rd. and Gardner Ave. and attempted to conduct a traffic stop on the vehicle. The subject, later identified as 49 year old Ventura resident Michael Holladay, failed to yield and a pursuit was initiated.
The pursuit continued on several residential streets, during which time Holladay drove at speeds of 60 mph on Telephone Rd. and ran several stop signs. In the area of Halifax St. and Big Horn St., Holladay exited the vehicle while it was still moving and fled on foot. He entered a nearby water culvert, which led into the Santa Clara River bottom.
Due to the heavy brush, officers quickly lost sight of him and did not pursue Holladay into the river bottom. He was able to elude the officers.
When he is located, Holladay will be arrested for felony evading. The felony warrant he currently has is also for felony evading arrest. Holladay is Post Release Offender.
Anyone with information on Holladay’s whereabouts is asked to call the Ventura Police Department at 650-8010.
Stolen Vehicle Arrest
On July 24 at 8:10am, a Ventura Police officer noticed a suspicious vehicle in the Motel 6 parking lot that matched the description of vehicle which was recently reported stolen. While the officer was attempting to confirm the status of the vehicle, the suspect, 49 year old Ventura resident Mary Filippi entered the vehicle and drove away.
Officers conducted an enforcement stop as the vehicle exited the parking lot and took Filippi into custody without incident. Fillipi was later booked into the Ventura County Jail for being in possession of a stolen vehicle.
Armed Robbery
On July 26, at approximately 10pm, the Ventura Police Department Command Center received a 911 call from an employee of Subway, 2950 Johnson Dr., reporting that an armed robbery had just occurred. The suspects, one armed with a handgun, were last seen fleeing westbound from the store on foot.
During the investigation officers learned there were two employees inside the store preparing to close, when both suspects entered the store. The one suspect armed with a gun pointed it at the employees and demanded money. He then jumped the counter. The employees started to run towards the back of the store, at which time the suspect with the gun grabbed one of them and threatened her. The armed suspect then took an undisclosed amount of cash from the register and fled from the store.
The second suspect did not display any weapons and remained on the front side of the counter. He also fled from the store.
Officers checked the area, but were unable to locate the suspects. The two employees were not physically injured as a result of this crime.
The suspects were described as follows: Suspect #1: Black Male, 20’s, wearing a black sweatshirt and armed with a handgun – Suspect #2: Unknown Race Male, wearing a red striped sweatshirt
