Roundup: Dogs die in fires, man sentenced for threats, more news
Here's a roundup of recent incidents and announcements from Ventura County agencies:
2 dogs die in Simi Valley fire; other blazes reported
Three structure fires of undetermined causes were reported in a little more than 12 hours around Ventura County on Sunday and Monday, one of them leading to the deaths of two dogs found under a bed.
The dogs were killed in a blaze reported shortly before 6:15 p.m. Sunday at a home at Fourth Street and California Avenue in a residential area in central Simi Valley. The two adults and two children who lived there were not at home when the fire broke out but were displaced and found temporary housing on their own, Ventura County Fire Department Capt. Brian McGrath said.
McGrath said there were no injuries to people and that the fire did not spread to any other homes.
About 30 personnel from the Ventura County Fire Department responded and put out the blaze in about 15 minutes, he said.
Another residential fire was reported shortly before 8 a.m. Monday in the 1600 block of North Ventura Avenue, south of the De Anza Academy of Technology & the Arts. Few details were immediately available from the city of Ventura Fire Department other than that there were no injuries.
The third fire struck an abandoned barn early Monday in the 4300 block of Olivas Park Drive, east of the Ventura Harbor. The fire reported shortly after midnight was extinguished in an hour and spread to just a small portion of nearby brush, McGrath said.
Local man sentenced over threatening phone calls amid Roe
An Oxnard man was sentenced Monday to 18 months in federal prison for making threatening telephone calls last year as the U.S. Supreme Court weighed overturning the Roe v. Wade decision guaranteeing abortion rights.
Nishith Tharaka Vandebona, 34, who lived in Camarillo when he committed the crimes, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge R. Gary Klausner in Los Angeles. The judge described the threatening phone calls as “egregious,” the U.S. Department of Justice said in a news release.
Vandebona has been in federal custody since June 12, the agency said. Officials said he pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of threatened forcible intimidation regarding the obtaining and provision of reproductive health services under the federal Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act and one felony count of transmitting threatening communications in interstate commerce.
In February and June of 2022, Vandebona allegedly used an internet application to create anonymous telephone numbers to make the threatening calls. On June 24 of that year, the day the Supreme Court published a decision overturning Roe and found the Constitution does not confer a right to abortion, Vandebona is accused of leaving a voicemail message containing death threats with Planned Parenthood California Central Coast, which is based in Santa Barbara.
The next day Vandebona allegedly called Planned Parenthood Los Angeles and repeatedly made death threats against its staff. About four months before in February, Vandebona called in a bomb threat to a Ventura nonprofit that seeks to stabilize population growth, federal officials said.
Freeway ramp closures this week
Ramp closures are planned on Highway 101 this week ending Friday for pavement work, state transportation officials announced.
The ramps will be closed from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., although some closures may be intermittent.
The closures will be at the Seacliff exit. Affected are the off-ramps from both sides of the freeway to Seacliff and on-ramps leading back to the freeway.
All work is subject to change due to weather or construction-related issues. Residents and businesses located near the freeway may experience noise, vibrations and dust associated with construction activities.
Motorists are advised to check http://quickmap.dot.ca.gov/ for real-time traffic information.
Items may be updated.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Roundup: Dogs die in fire, man sentenced over threats, more
