Roundup: Big rig pursuit winds through Ventura County, more local news

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

Big rig pursuit zips through Ventura County

VENTURA COUNTY – A driver accused of stealing a big rig launched an epic, three-county pursuit Wednesday night that looped through east Ventura County.

The semitrailer was reportedly stolen in east Los Angeles around 8:30 p.m. and the suspect was ultimately taken into custody in Orange County at 8:36 a.m. Thursday, said California Highway Patrol Officer Florentino Olivera with the agency's Santa Ana office.

At around 9 p.m., the pursuit headed into Simi Valley on Highway 118 after traveling up Interstate 5. The local leg continued southbound on Highway 23 through Moorpark and Thousand Oaks, then returned to Los Angeles County via southbound Highway 101, officials said.

Officer Ryan Ayers with the CHP's Moorpark office said local units successfully deployed five sets of spike strips as the big rig moved through the area, starting near Madera Road in Simi Valley and continuing around the loop to Lindero Canyon Road.

By the time the tractor-trailer made it to Ventura County, authorities had learned the trailer was empty and there were no potentially hazardous materials on board, Ayers said. The truck had been stolen from the yard of a food delivery company in Bell, he said, and the owner told CHP officials it had half a tank of fuel.

The tractor portion — which controls the steering – lost its two front tires "pretty quickly," Ayers said, and was running completely on rims. The trailer itself had four or five tires fall off, he said.

But the big rig kept going, even as additional tires fell off in Los Angeles County.

Eight tires on the rear of the tractor, which pulls the trailer, remained intact, Ayers said, leaving the driver with some propulsion.

The pursuit never reached high speeds in Ventura County, Ayers said. The semi was going about 55 mph as it came into Simi Valley. After the spike strips crippled multiple tires, the speed dropped down to about 30 mph.

Some observers have suggested the pursuit might be among the longest in state history, although CHP officials couldn't confirm that Thursday. Ayers said diesel-powered big rigs can travel as many as 500 to 800 miles before refueling. The stolen semi, he said, would have likely continued for hundreds more miles if it hadn't been stopped.

Ventura County Sheriff's Copter 8 joined overhead for about 8 minutes as the pursuit, then westbound, neared Rocky Peak Road, said sheriff's Capt. Victor Medina. A helicopter with the Los Angeles Police Department was low on fuel, Medina said, so the Ventura County crew filled in. Copter 8 was released as the chase boomeranged back into Los Angeles County and another LAPD air unit took over.

The suspect, a 22-year-old Los Angeles County man, came to a stop on southbound Highway 55 in Santa Ana when the truck became inoperable, Olivera saidn hours-long standoff followed.

The Irvine Police Department responded. After the driver reportedly failed to comply with officers' commands, the Santa Ana Police Department's SWAT team ultimately helped take the suspect into custody, Olivera said.

DA seeks potential victims, witnesses in sexually motived crimes cases

VENTURA – Prosecutors are seeking the public's help regarding possible witnesses or additional victims of a man now accused of multiple sexually motivated crimes, including an alleged assault on a Ventura bike path in September.

Ventura County District Attorney Erik Nasarenko's office on Wednesday issued a statement saying the suspect in the bike path assault, Martin Valdez Arias, 28, has been charged in a second crime.

On Aug. 30, Arias was allegedly riding a silver and black bicycle near Tanager Street and Swift Avenue in Ventura when he rode past a woman walking with her grandson and exposed his genitals, according to prosecutors. He has been charged with felony indecent exposure.

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The August incident came to light as the Ventura Police Department and Ventura County Sheriff's Office did more investigation into the Sept. 1 assault on the bike path near Ventura Community Park, on the south side of Highway 126 in Ventura. In that case, Arias was reportedly riding the same bike when he attacked a woman walking on the path. He has been charged with false imprisonment by violence and sexual battery in the bike path case.

Arias appeared in Ventura County Superior Court Wednesday for arraignment. The hearing was continued until Nov. 17. He has not yet entered a plea in the new cases. He remains in custody at Todd Road Jail and is not currently eligible for bail. A message left for his attorney Wednesday afternoon was not returned.

Court records show Arias previously pleaded guilty to felony indecent exposure and misdemeanor sexual battery in a case brought by the Oxnard Police Department in 2020.

The prosecutor in the current cases, Supervising Deputy DA Brent Nibecker, said he couldn't discuss earlier convictions since that might prejudice potential jurors.

Arias returned to the Ventura County area on July 24 this year, according to the DA's office, and was in the community until his arrest on Sept. 7. Authorities believe he spent time in and around Ventura, Oxnard and Ojai.

Prosecutors released photos of Arias and his bicycle Wednesday, saying investigators are looking into whether other victims may have been touched inappropriately or been exposed to the genitals of a man riding a bicycle.

Potential victims as well as any witnesses to such incidents are asked to call the DA's supervising investigator, Christopher Borkovec, at 805-477-1647.

Crash near elementary school spurs warning

SANTA PAULA – A single-vehicle rollover accident in a Santa Paula school zone Wednesday morning prompted a caution from the chief of police.

The accident happened around 7:30 a.m. in the 300 block of North Mill Street, near McKevett Elementary School, according to the Santa Paula Police Department.

A 35-year-old woman had apparently been driving faster than the 25 mph school-zone limit, causing her vehicle to roll over onto its roof when she struck another car, police officials said. The accident remained under investigation Wednesday afternoon.

Children were arriving for school at the time. None were injured.

The driver was extricated and taken by ambulance to a hospital. Her injuries did not appear life-threatening, officials said.

Chief Travis Walker, who wrote the department's release and attached a photo of the upside-down vehicle, said he hoped the incident would help residents understand why the department conducts enforcement efforts in school zones: to prevent potential tragedies.

"The big thing," Walker said, "is that we want to get information out to people to slow down."

Pursuit, crash after four home burglaries

THOUSAND OAKS – A pursuit of three suspected burglars Wednesday ended in a crash and search effort in Westlake Village that prompted the precautionary lockdown of an elementary school.

The incident unfolded shortly before 2 p.m. when a Ventura County Sheriff's deputy responded to a residential burglary call on Marimar Street in Thousand Oaks, said sheriff's Capt. Steve Jenkins. The deputy spotted the suspect vehicle in the area, launching the pursuit.

Authorities later learned the vehicle occupants were suspected in four home burglaries Wednesday, including one where suspects broke in while residents were home, said Detective Kevin Alldredge with the sheriff's Thousand Oaks station. The burglaries were all reported in Thousand Oaks, Alldredge said.g two where they reportedly broke in while residents were at home, Jenkins said.

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The pursuit ended with a crash along Agoura Road, west of Lindero Canyon Road, just over the county line, where the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department Lost Hills station took over. The three suspects fled on foot, prompting a search that included a Ventura County helicopter.

Los Angeles authorities locked down White Oak Elementary School, south of Agoura Road, as a precaution. The lockdown was lifted before 4:30 p.m.

Two of the suspects, a man and a woman, were arrested, Jenkins said. A third remained outstanding Thursday but was not believed to be armed, authorities said.

Nursing home wing evacuated

THOUSAND OAKS – About 30 residents of a Thousand Oaks nursing home were evacuated from their wing Wednesday when a malfunctioning HVAC unit sent smoke into the air.

The incident was initially reported as a structure fire around 12:40 p.m. at the Thousand Oaks Healthcare Center, 93 W. Avenida de Los Arboles. The first firefighters on scene described a possible working fire, leading to numerous units responding.

Ventura County Fire Dept. Capt. Bob Welsbie said one wing of the facility was evacuated as crews investigated. About 30 residents were moved to a safe part of the building.

While firefighters ultimately determined there was no fire, he said, crews set up for the real thing by hooking into hydrants and otherwise preparing, Welsbie said. In the end, they found the smoke had come from a burned out motor in the HVAC unit, referring to the heating, ventilation and air conditioning system.

The department's No., 1 priority is "life safety," Welsbie said, even when it might be inconvenient to move residents in a facility.

"Hands down, the safest way of tackling any fire is to err on the side of caution," Welsbie said.

This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Roundup: Big rig chase winds through Ventura County, more news