Roundup: Firefighters tackle Oak View residential blaze, more local news

Here's a roundup of recent incidents and announcements from Ventura County agencies:

Crews tackle structure fire in Oak View

VENTURA COUNTY — County firefighters put out a residential blaze in Oak View early Tuesday.

Crews responded to the 200 block of Larmier Avenue, near the cross with Vine Street, shortly after 2:50 a.m. An exterior fire involving a trailer outside a home had extended into the attic of th residence, according to the Ventura County Fire Department.

The block is in a mostly residential area on the west side of Highway 33 in Oak View, an unincorporated Ojai Valley community.

Ventura County Sheriff's deputies also responded because there were early reports two residents were possibly trapped, said Capt. Trina Newman, although everybody was able to get out of the residence on their own.

No injuries were reported, said county fire Capt. Brian McGrath. The cause of the fire was not available as of midday Wednesday.

Stolen property recovered in river bottom

VENTURA COUNTY — Authorities recovered stolen property and made multiple arrests while conducting an operation in the Santa Clara River bottom near Santa Paula last week.

Ventura County Sheriff's detectives had conducted a joint investigation with the Santa Paula Police Department after an uptick in thefts during July, the sheriff's office reported Tuesday.

Detectives with the sheriff's Fillmore bureau had previously arrested a 33-year-old man, described as transient, for allegedly stealing about 80 feet of telecommunications wire from Southern California Edison utility poles — which cost the utility about $10,000 to replace — from lines near South Mountain and Balcom Canyon roads last month.

Sheriff's personnel teamed up with Santa Paula police to locate evidence related to the copper wire theft, which led the agencies to suspects living in the river bottom. Santa Paula detectives also had evidence allegedly linking the suspects to thefts in the city.

Last Thursday, the agencies conducted an operation in the river bottom. They arrested nine people: two for outstanding warrants and seven for suspected narcotics violations. One of the nine was also arrested on suspicion of having stolen property, while another was arrested on suspicion of a deadly weapons violation.

Authorities recovered a trove of stolen gear including power tools and an electric bike. The recovered property is being held at the Santa Paula police station while detectives identify property owners.

Anyone with information is asked to call the sheriff's Fillmore police station at 805-524-2233 or Santa Paula police at 805-525-4474.

Increased jet activity continues at Point Mugu

VENTURA COUNTY — Increased jet activity at Naval Base Ventura County, Point Mugu will continue until early next month.

More jets have been flying in and out of the base since last week due to multiple test events.

The tests involve approximately 50 aircraft in the region. Increased activity that picked up Monday will run through Sept. 2. The tests are being conducted to provide training for pilots and air crews at Point Mugu.

Local residents in the Camarillo and Oxnard areas may hear extra noise from jet activity during the test events. More details are available by calling NBVC at 805-989-9234.

Guilty verdict for YouTuber's use of pepper spray

VENTURA COUNTY — Jurors on Monday found a San Luis Obispo man guilty in a misdemeanor case involving pepper spray.

Gabriel Rosas, 37, had been livestreaming on YouTube in August 2021 after he entered a private industrial business area in Ventura, according to the Ventura County District Attorney's Office. Multiple business owners asked him to leave but he refused, eventually pepper spraying one business owner in the face.

After jurors found him guilty of using tear gas not in self defense, Ventura County Superior Court Judge Derek Malan sentenced Rosas to 45 days in Ventura County jail and 12 months summary probation, prosecutors said.

Former Oxnard resident sentenced in federal child porn case

LOS ANGELES — A former Oxnard resident was sentenced to more than 19 years in federal prison Tuesday after previously pleading guilty in a porn case involving a 10-year-old Colorado girl.

Barry Bryant "Ben" Rossman, 63, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Stanley Blumenfeld Jr. in Los Angeles. The sentence included 235 months in federal prison, $427.50 in restitution and lifetime supervised release, according to the U.S. attorney's office.

Rossman, who previously lived in Oxnard and in Santa Rosa in northern California, pleaded guilty in May to one count each of producing child pornography, enticing a minor to engage in criminal sexual activity and receiving child pornography.

In late 2019 and in January 2020, Rossman had posed online as a 21-year-old named Ben and interacted through Instagram with a 10-year-old Colorado girl. Through a series of ruses, he convinced the girl to send photos, videos and messages that were sexually exploitive, prosecutors said. The girl's mother called police when she found the messages on her daughter's phone.

Authorities executed a search warrant at Rossman's Oxnard home in May 2020. A search of his Instagram account showed he had contacted "at least" hundreds of minors with similar ruses about 1,633 times, the U.S. attorney's office reported.

"For his sexual gratification...Rossman lied to, groomed and manipulated children to engage in sex acts they were far too young to even understand," prosecutors wrote in a sentencing memorandum.

The case was investigated by the FBI and the Erie Police Department in Colorado.

Items may be updated if new information becomes available.

This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Crews tackle Oak View blaze, sentencing in child porn case, more