Roundup: Guilty plea in fatal DUI, motorcycle accident near Lake Casitas, more local news
Here's a roundup of recent incidents and announcements from Ventura County agencies:
Driver pleads guilty in fatal DUI
VENTURA — The driver in an accident on Highway 101 that killed a 16-year-old Ventura girl last year pleaded guilty to felony charges Thursday in Ventura County Superior Court.
Nelson Manuel Rivas, 23, of Oxnard, pleaded guilty to vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and driving under the influence causing great bodily injury, with enhancements, said prosecutor Kelsey Einhorn with the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.
Rivas had been driving a Nissan Sentra southbound on the 101 in June 2021 when the car went off the road and rolled down an embankment south of Victoria Avenue. Chloe Arbuckle, 16, was thrown from the vehicle and died at the scene. A 17-year-old girl also thrown from the car suffered major injuries.
Rivas had been charged with additional felonies and previously pleaded not guilty to all counts.
The remaining counts will be dismissed at a sentencing hearing scheduled for 9 a.m. Aug. 9 in courtroom 23. He could be face five years and eight months in prison, Einhorn said.
Motorcycle accident near Lake Casitas brings helicopter
VENTURA COUNTY — A motorcycle crash near the entrance to Lake Casitas Saturday evening sent the rider to the hospital.
The accident was reported around 6:15 p.m. on Santa Ana Road, about a quarter mile south of the junction with Highway 150, according to California Highway Patrol and Ventura County Fire Department reports. Fire crews reported finding a motorcycle off the roadway.
A Ventura County Sheriff's helicopter, Copter 8, was called to the scene. The helicopter crew transported the rider to Ventura County Medical Center, a sheriff's official confirmed.
The rider suffered major injuries, according to the CHP.
This item may be updated if new information becomes available.
Sentencing for felony perfume thefts
VENTURA COUNTY — A Los Angeles man and woman were sentenced Friday in Ventura County Superior Court for thefts of thousands of dollars worth of perfume from an ULTA Beauty store in Thousand Oaks.
The cases involved thefts last August and in February at the beauty chain's location in Janss Marketplace on North Moorpark Road, according to the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.
In August, Cornell Eugene Williams, 23, and Emmoni Ann Walden, 18, stole fragrances valued between $3,000 to $5,000, the DA's office said.
On two days in February, Walden and a juvenile stole more than $12,000 worth of perfume. Later in February, Williams and Walden stole another $5,335 in fragrances from the store, aided by a driver waiting in a car.
A tracking device with the stolen merchandise led Ventura County Sheriff's deputies to the suspects, prosecutors said.
The driver, Carolyn Nicole Crawley, 32, previously pleaded guilty to a felony commercial burglary charge and was sentenced earlier, the DA's office said.
Williams had already pleaded guilty to a felony count of commercial burglary. On Friday, he was sentenced to a year in custody and a year's mandatory supervision and ordered to pay $8,335 in restitution to ULTA Beauty, prosecutors said.
Walden had earlier pleaded guilty to a felony commercial burglary charge and three felony counts of organized retail theft. She was sentenced Friday to three years in Ventura County jail and two years mandatory supervision. She was ordered to pay $35,911 in restitution, prosecutors said.
6 home burglary suspects arrested
VENTURA COUNTY — Six suspected members of a so-called South American Theft Group were arrested Tuesday in Newbury Park, the Ventura County Sheriff's Office reported.
The suspects, all Colombian nationals in their 20s and 30s, are believed to be connected to multiple home burglaries and attempted burglaries on May 20 and June 3, sheriff's officials said. The incidents are being investigated with the Simi Valley Police Department and the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.
On Tuesday, detectives with the sheriff's Thousand Oaks bureau learned a suspected theft crew was in Newbury Park. That afternoon, authorities conducted a traffic stop with two associated vehicles in the 400 block of Ventu Park Road.
Detectives had also contacted the victim of an attempted "knock knock" residential burglary in the 100 block of Heavenly Valley Road in Newbury Park. A female suspect with flowers had reportedly knocked on the woman's door saying the flowers were for "Alan," sheriff's officials said. No one by that name lived at the house. The homeowner reported the suspicious behavior, which is consistent with one method the theft crews use to find houses with no one home, authorities said.
The six suspects were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit residential burglaries and booked in Ventura County jail. Charges are pending for additional local burglaries, authorities said.
Free legal clinic for county residents
The nonprofit law firm California Rural Legal Assistance Inc. will host a free legal clinic on July 14 for eligible U.S. citizens who wish to clear criminal records through expungement. The session will run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the E.P. Foster Library in Ventura, 651 E. Main St.
Volunteer attorneys will analyze a person's criminal records and prepare paperwork for eligible clients. The nonprofit firm, which offers free legal services to low-income residents, will file the forms with Ventura County Superior Court.
The legal agency's pro bono partners for the clinic include Bank of America, McGuireWoods LLP and Jubilee Legal. The Ventura County Public Defender's Office is also providing support.
Appointments are recommended by calling 805-483-8083 or emailing reentry@crla.org.
Items may be updated if more information becomes available.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Roundup: Guilty plea in fatal DUI, more Ventura County news
