Roundup: TO man charged with sex crimes involving girls, condo fire victim ID'd, more news
Here's a roundup of recent incidents and announcements from Ventura County agencies:
TO man charged with sex crimes involving minors
VENTURA COUNTY — Authorities say there may be more victims of a 22-year-old Thousand Oaks man accused of sex crimes involving underage girls.
Devon Alec Joelson was charged Thursday by the Ventura County District Attorney's Office with multiple counts of felony luring along with unlawful sexual intercourse, assault of a person under 18 and other crimes. The DA's case involved 45 felony and misdemeanor counts in all, according to Ventura County Superior Court records.
Joelson pleaded not guilty to all charges in court Thursday, records show.
Ventura County Sheriff's detectives arrested Joelson Tuesday after serving a search warrant at his home in the 700 block of Hartglen Avenue in Thousand Oaks.
The agency had launched an investigation in March after a Camarillo deputy took a report about a girl, 14, who had been solicited by a man to send child sexual abuse material over social media, according to sheriff's officials. The man then allegedly conned the girl into meeting him at a park, where he reportedly tried to sexually abuse her. Joelson was identified as the suspect.
Sheriff's detectives filed multiple search warrants and found Joelson had allegedly been communicating with "numerous" girls on social media and solicited pornographic material from many. In addition, he tried to meet up with some, authorities said.
In May, patrol deputies from Thousand Oaks responded to a domestic violence incident at the Hartglen Avenue home. Joelson was arrested, and later charged by prosecutors, in an alleged incident involving a different underage girl. Detectives determined he met the victim over social media. Their investigation found he allegedly sexually abused her and tried to contact her again after he had been released from custody.
He has pleaded not guilty to all charges in the May domestic violence case, court records show. Charges include assault with force likely to cause great bodily injury, criminal threats, a domestic violence offense and special enhancements.
Earlier this year, Joelson pleaded guilty in a cruelty to an animal case involving a 2019 incident, court records show. In a plea agreement, the case was reduced from a felony to a misdemeanor.
As of Saturday, Joelson remained in custody at Todd Road Jail in lieu of $1 million bail, jail records showed.
Sheriff's authorities said their investigation is ongoing and they believe there may be more victims.
If you have information regarding the case, you can call Detective Larrs Johnson at the sheriff's Camarillo investigations unit at 805-388-5120.
Victim of Oxnard condo fire identified
OXNARD — Authorities have identified the man who died in a fire at a south Oxnard condominium Wednesday morning.
Bruce C. Smith was 69, the Ventura County Medical Examiner's Office reported. The cause of death was smoke inhalation, officials said, and the manner was found to be accidental.
An update on the status of a woman seriously burned during the fire was not available from the Oxnard Fire Department as of Friday. The cause of the blaze was also not yet available.
The fire was reported shortly after 5 a.m. Wednesday at a condo complex in the 5100 block of Longfellow Way, south of East Pleasant Valley Road. An upstairs apartment in a building with four units caught fire, with the blaze ultimately displacing 17 people, fire officials said.
Smith and the injured woman both lived in the affected unit, authorities said. Neighbors had helped awaken residents and helped pull the injured woman from the condo, residents at the scene said.
Driver ID'd in head-on crash
VENTURA COUNTY — The Ventura County Medical Examiner's Office has identified the Santa Paula man killed in a head-on crash on Foothill Road last month.
Nicolas Orozco Garcia was 39, the agency said.
The accident occurred shortly before 11 p.m. on July 30 west of Aliso Canyon Road, between Ventura and Santa Paula.
Garcia had been driving a Honda Accord westbound on Foothill when he crossed into the opposing lane and hit a Ford Fusion head-on, according to the California Highway Patrol. The Ford was driven by a 23-year-old Santa Paula man. Garcia was taken to Ventura County Medical Center, where he later died.
The Ford driver was taken to the a hospital with moderate injuries, the CHP reported. Authorities determined the younger driver was not under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Garcia's sobriety remained under investigation, CHP officials said.
Pedestrians ID'd in 2 July fatalities
VENTURA COUNTY — Authorities have named two pedestrians killed by vehicles in separate incidents last month.
On July 22 in Camarillo, Sergey Yegorov, 42, was killed while walking across Lewis Road, south of the junction with Las Posas Road, around 11:35 p.m. The Ventura County Medical Examiner's Office described Yegorov as transient. Ventura County Sheriff's officials have said the driver stayed at the scene and cooperated with investigators.
On July 29 in Oxnard, 38-year-old David H. Lopez Gomez of Oxnard was killed by an SUV on Wooley Road, according to the medical examiner's office. Oxnard Police Department officials said the incident occurred in an industrial area near Mercantile Street with no crosswalk or other traffic controls. The driver of the Dodge Durango SUV stayed at the scene and cooperated with police, officials said.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Thousand Oaks man charged with sex crimes involving girls
