Roundup: Ojai man arrested after OD in Carpinteria, molester sentenced, more news

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

Ojai man arrested after Carpinteria OD response

A 26-year-old Ojai man was arrested after authorities allegedly found him in Carpinteria last month with a large quantity of drugs during an overdose call.

Santa Barbara County Sheriff's deputies had responded to a report of a person passed out in a vehicle on Birch Street in Carpinteria on the afternoon of April 22, the agency said in a release Friday. The Ojai man was found unresponsive with drug paraphernalia in his lap. Deputies also found a large quantity of suspected narcotics in the vehicle, including fentanyl, M30 pills, cocaine and ketamine, an anesthetic.

Detectives obtained a search warrant for the man's Ojai residence in the 1200 block of Gregory Street. That night, authorities found additional fentanyl, heroin, oxycodone M30 pills and cocaine during the search, authorities said.

In all, agency officials seized about 1.8 pounds of fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid, more than a pound of cocaine, more than 4 ounces each of heroin and methamphetamine, nearly 3 ounces of ketamine, 50 benzodiazepine pills and 616 oxycodone M30 pills.

The man was arrested on suspicion of multiple felony narcotics violations and remained in Santa Barbara County jail custody Friday in lieu of $260,000 bail.

Child molest sentence brings 34 years in prison

A Santa Paula man who pleaded guilty to child molestation was sentenced last week to 34 years to life in prison, the Ventura County District Attorney's Office said.

Rodolfo Duran, 27, pleaded guilty in April to sodomy of a child age 10 or younger and forcible sodomy of a child under 14. The conduct involved two separate victims, prosecutors said. Duran also admitted to special allegations including that the crimes involved great violence and he took advantage of a position of trust.

He was sentenced on May 4 by Ventura County Superior Court Judge Bruce Young.

One of the victims had reported the molestation to her school teacher in Santa Paula in 2018, the DA's office said in a release. Santa Paula Police Department detectives soon identified a second victim that Duran had molested for years. Duran reportedly confessed to the allegations while being interviewed by Santa Paula police.

2 arrested for alleged ATM skimming activity in Camarillo

Two Anaheim men were arrested in Camarillo Wednesday after deputies suspected them of taking part in attempted "skimming" activities at an ATM.

The men, both in their 20s, were reportedly spotted near an automated teller machine on Ponderosa Drive and possibly installing a skimmer device, according to the Ventura County Sheriff's Office, which is contracted to provide police services in Camarillo.

Deputies contacted the men, who reportedly authorized a search of their vehicle. There, deputies found manufactured faceplates with pinhole cameras, so-called "deep insert" credit card skimmers and tools to install the skimmers on ATMs, the agency said. Deputies also found credit card information that didn't belong to either man.

Camarillo authorities have seen an increase in the past six months in identity theft crimes involving recipients of state benefits that provide food and other assistance to low-income residents. The CalFRESH and CalWORKS programs use debit cards that lack many security features of other cards, according to sheriff's officials. Personal information stolen from such cards through skimming devices at ATMs and point-of-sale machines can be used to make a clone card used to steal money from a victim's account.

The two suspects were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy and other offenses. Both remained in county jail custody as of Friday afternoon.

Authorities urged residents to look for signs of tampering when using ATM or point-of-sale machines and to cover keypads when entering a personal identification number.

4 arrested in connection with fatal overdoses

Ventura County Sheriff's authorities arrested four Los Angeles men late last month in connection with two fatal overdoses in Ventura County in 2022.

The four are suspected of being part of an organized narcotics delivery service based in the San Fernando Valley that supplied the drugs taken in the fatal incidents. The deaths occurred in the Thousand Oaks area in September and October, authorities said.

Ventura County's FOCUS task force — for "fentanyl and overdose crimes units" — investigated the deaths. The task force is comprised of local and federal law enforcement officers.

Authorities say such drug deliveries are directly managed by members of a drug cartel in Mexico who allegedly facilitate the "mass delivery" of narcotics throughout Southern California using delivery drivers who live in the state. Sheriff's officials described the services as well organized and difficult to investigate. Profits from the sales are funneled back to the Mexican cartels, according to the sheriff's release.

Task force detectives used surveillance and other methods to identify drivers who live in the San Fernando Valley and often made several trips a day to Ventura County to sell drugs. Information collected over several months in the Thousand Oaks and Simi Valley areas led to the April arrests.

The four suspect are all residents of the Valley's Pacoima neighborhood, age 23 to 33. They were booked and subsequently released from Ventura County jail while the investigation continues.

During the operation, task force detectives seized 7.5 ounces of heroin, half an ounce of powdered fentanyl, 2 ounces of methamphetamine, 638 counterfeit pills containing fentanyl and 3 grams of cocaine, authorities said. About $1,850 in cash was also seized.

Items may be updated.

This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Roundup: Ojai man arrested after OD in Carpinteria, more local news