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.
Suspicious Circumstances
On January 15, at approximately 2pm, the Ventura Police Department Command Center started receiving multiple 911 calls from employees inside of the Human Services Agency at 855 Partridge Dr. reporting shots being fired inside the lobby. Numerous officers from the Ventura Police Department responded to the scene and contacted the suspect, later identified as 31 year old Port Hueneme resident Royce Denson, who was found unarmed in the front lobby. Denson was detained.
During the investigation officers learned that Denson was in court earlier today and had public services taken away from him that were provided by the Human Services Agency. Denson went to the main office and started disturbing inside the lobby. He became upset with the employees and began banging his fists on the counter. Employees secured the front office, while other employees inside the building heard what they thought were gunshots and called 911.
Officers conducted a thorough search of the entire building to ensure it was safe for the employees, who had gone into a lockdown.
As a precaution, nearby Portola Elementary School was immediately placed on lockdown until it was determined no further threat existed.
Denson was arrested for trespassing and a violation of probation.
A review of the Ventura County Superior Court website shows that Denson has been convicted 8 times in the past 2 years. The various charges included resisting arrest, possession of a controlled substance, and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Assault with Deadly Weapon (handgun used)
On January 18, at approximately 12am, the Ventura Police Command Center received a call of a gunshot victim in the area of Mission Park. Officers quickly arrived on scene and were informed by witnesses that the victim was transported by a passerby to Community Memorial Hospital. Officers met the victim at the hospital as the victim was suffering from a single gunshot wound to his lower leg. The Victim was stabilized and was later transported to Ventura County Medical Center where he was treated for his moderate injuries.
The Officers that had arrived near Mission Park located a crime scene and evidence of the shooting. Detectives were notified and along with a crime scene investigator took over the scene. No officers were injured in this incident. The suspect was a 49 year old adult male, his name has been withheld.
This is an active investigation, and anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to contact Ventura Police Department Detectives at 805-339-4488.
Conspiracy to Commit Crime, Battery and Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor Arrest
On January 20, at approximately 6pm the Ventura Police Department Command Center received a 911 call from a 20-year-old male reporting that he had been shot in the back by subjects in a passing vehicle. The victim started to follow the suspect vehicle while he remained on the phone with the dispatcher, but stopped after it was determined he had been shot by a paintball gun. The victim sustained minor injuries to his back.
With the description of the suspect vehicle provided by the victim, officers were able to contact the owner of the suspect vehicle. The suspects, later identified as a 17-year-old male Ventura resident, who was the driver and 18 year old Ventura resident Terrell Vaughn, identified as the shooter, met with investigating officers at the Ventura Police Department.
At the conclusion of the investigation, officers determined that the 17-year-old and Vaughn conspired to drive around the city and shoot people with the paint ball gun.
The juvenile was cited and released to his parents for conspiracy and battery. Vaughn was arrested for conspiracy, battery and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. A third 18-year-old passenger that was in the vehicle was not arrested.
If others were victimized by being shot with a paintball gun, please contact the Ventura Police Department Watch Commander at 339-4416.
Strong Arm Robbery
On January 24, at approximately 12:15am, the Ventura Police Department Command Center received a 911 from a witness that heard the victim yell for help saying that his phone had been taken.
Officers arrived and contacted the victim who said he was at the 76 station waiting for a friend to pick him up when the suspect came over to him and engaged him in a conversation about the music he was playing. While the victim was talking to the suspect, the suspect grabbed the victim’s I-phone from his hand and began to run away. The victim tackled the suspect and tried to get his phone back, but the suspect began to hit the victim several times in the head and face. The suspect was able to get away and fled northbound on Victoria Ave.
Ventura Police Officers and The K9 unit attempted to locate the suspect but were unable to locate him. The suspect was described as a white male, 25 years old, blonde hair, wearing a grey flannel and black pants. Using the Find My I-phone app officers were able to locate the victim’s phone nearby as the suspect either dropped or discarded the phone as he fled.
The victim sustained minor injuries from this incident and was treated at the scene by Ventura Fire paramedics. This is an ongoing investigation, anyone with information regarding this crime is asked to call the Ventura Police Department at 805-339-4488.
