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.
Threats against a Peace Office arrest
On November 23, at approximately 8:30pm, a Ventura patrol officer saw a subject laying down on the sidewalk in the area of Chestnut and Thompson. The officer contacted the subject identified as 40-year-old vagrant Michael Anderson and learned he was on probation. More Ventura police officers arrived on the scene, and they began to conduct a probation search on Anderson. During the search, Anderson made a direct threat to one of the officers. The threat was credible, and Anderson was arrested for the threat.
A search of the Ventura County Superior Court website shows that Anderson has been arrested six times in 2018, three of those cases are still open. The officer returned to work after being treated.
Trespassing on Railroad Property and Resisting Arrest
On November 24, at approximately 9:45pm, the Ventura Police Department Command Center received a call from the Union Pacific Railroad dispatch reporting that a subject was on the roof top of the train and refusing to get off. The northbound Amtrak train, which was occupied by numerous passengers, was stopped at the train platform adjacent to the Ventura County Fairgrounds.
Officers arrived on scene and attempted to make contact with the subject, later identified as 22-year-old Motaz Eljadaa. Eljadaa refused orders to climb down off the train and continued running back and forth on the roof of the train, in an attempt to elude officers. Before officers could access the train’s roof top, Eljadaa suddenly climbed down and fled on foot, during which time he attempted to hide in a tree. Officers caught him and took Eljadaa into custody.
Amtrak employees reported Eljadaa boarded the train in Moorpark and had been causing several disturbances as the train stopped at each scheduled stop before arriving in Ventura.
Assault with a Deadly Weapon
On November 24, at approximately 3:40pm, the Ventura Police Department Command Center received a call of a family disturbance and reports that one of the family members, later identified as a 56-year-old male adult had been stabbed with a screwdriver. Officers, along with Ventura City Fire and AMR personnel, responded to the call and found the victim suffering from multiple non-life-threatening injuries to his upper body. He was treated at the scene by medical personnel and later transported to VCMC for treatment of his injuries. The suspect, identified as 31-year-old Ventura resident Andrew Ricardez, had fled the residence prior to officers arriving on scene.
During the investigation, officers determined the victim and Ricardez, who are father and son, got into a verbal argument. Ricardez armed himself with a screwdriver and stabbed the victim several times. Ricardez was contacted later at another family member’s residence and taken into custody. He was booked into the Ventura County Jail for assault with a deadly weapon.
Possession of a Knife on a School Campus, Resisting Arrest and Warrants
On November 26 at approximately 2pm, the Ventura Police Department Command Center received a call from Gold Coast Transit reporting a subject possibly armed with a gun near the intersection of Telegraph Rd. and Palomares Ave. The information was second hand from a bus driver, who denied the subject entry onto a bus and said the gun was wrapped in a shirt.
Officers arrived on scene and observed the subject, later identified as 34-year-old Ventura resident Andrew Ortiz, walking near the YMCA on Telegraph Rd. As one of the officers was attempting to make contact with Ortiz, he fled onto the campus of Anacapa Middle School. The officer pursued Ortiz on foot and quickly took him into custody.
Traffic Pursuit with Arrest
On November 28 at approximately 1:30am, a Ventura Police Officer attempted to stop a Chevy truck on the 126 Freeway at Kimball Road for a traffic violation. The driver did not yield to the officer and fled. Officers pursued the vehicle onto Telephone Road and into a neighborhood south of Bristol Road and Ramelli Ave. The driver was not familiar with the area and turned onto a dead end street. Recognizing he could not continue to flee in his vehicle, the driver exited and fled on foot. Officers initiated a foot pursuit and caught the suspect after a short distance.
The suspect, 44-year-old Oxnard resident Joaquin Cano, was a parolee at large and had thrown methamphetamine out of the window of his vehicle during the pursuit, which was recovered by officers.
Armed Robbery
On October 20, at approximately 1:30pm, the suspects entered a business at 1839 E. Main St. They approached the employee at the counter, pulled out their guns and demanded money. The employee gave the suspects an undisclosed amount of money and the suspects left to the business. The suspects were last seen driving away eastbound in a white four-door compact vehicle.
Major Crimes Detectives began investigating this incident and several other similar armed robberies that occurred around the same time frame. After analyzing video surveillance and following up on investigative leads, Detectives identified 29-year-old Ventura resident Ernesto Solis as one of the suspects in the H&H Liquor store robbery. Solis was also wanted for a PROS violation and for providing false information to a police officer on two different occasions allowing him to avoid being arrested for his PROS warrant.
On November 27, at 6:30pm, Detectives located Solis near his residence in the 1700 Block of Olive Street and took him into custody without incident.
Assault with a Deadly Weapon and Elder Abuse Arrest
On November 29, at approximately 9:45am, officers responded to multiple reports of a fight near the businesses in the 5700 block of Telephone Road. When officers arrived, they found the elderly male victim to the front of the businesses. He was suffering from multiple lacerations and other non-life threatening injuries. The suspect, 56-year-old Ventura resident Tod Koep, was also located nearby and detained by officers.
The investigation revealed Koep was unprovoked when he approached the victim and struck him numerous times with closed fists. Koep was arrested for the felony charges of assault with a deadly weapon and elder abuse.
Attempt Carjacking and Attempt Kidnapping Arrest
On November 29, at 7:50pm, the Ventura Police Department Command Center received a 911 call from a female victim advising the suspect had attempted to get into her vehicle forcefully, and she described the suspect. Ventura College Police officers who were in the area saw a suspect matching the description and detained him.
Ventura Police officers arrived and conducted the investigation. A brief moment after the female victim got in her car, the suspect opened her car door and grabbed her. He made a gesture that he had a gun in his waistband and told her to move into the passenger seat.The victim resisted and began honking her horn which caused the suspect to stop his assault and flee.
The victim identified the suspect who was detained, Anthony Figueroa, 18 years of Ventura ,as the person who committed the crime. Through the investigation, it was determined the suspect was not armed with a handgun. No one was injured as a result of this crime. Figueroa was booked at Ventura County Jail for Attempt Carjacking and Attempt Kidnapping.
