‘Serial offender’ sentenced in 5 more felony cases after spending almost 2 years on the run
A man from Moorpark who spent nearly two years evading authorities was sentenced to more than a decade in state prison Tuesday after being convicted of five separate felonies.
Ventura County District Attorney Erik Nasarenko referred to 39-year-old George Randall Akrey of Moorpark as a “serial offender” after he perpetrated a crime spree that lasted from 2014 to 2022.
“Over the past decade, the defendant has not only been a serial offender whose crimes caused serious harm to other people, but also someone who consistently disobeyed court orders and put officers and the public at grave risk,” Nasarenko said in a release. “Our community will be safer during the years he will spend in custody.”
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The crimes Akrey was found guilty of included a multi-year scheme that embezzled more than $500,000 from Thousand Oaks Powersports, where he used to work as a sales manager.
The DA’s office confirmed that Akrey was also convicted of battery of his wife and was charged with evasion in which he attempted to avoid arrest and led deputies on a chase through Moorpark.
He was also convicted of illegal drug possession, identity theft, false impersonation, preparation of false evidence and smuggling drugs into jail.
The 39-year-old Moorpark native pled guilty to 13 felonies in relation to his first four cases in Ventura County on Feb. 24, 2022, according to the Ventura County DA.
“He admitted the aggravated white-collar crime enhancement and five allegations that he committed his later crimes while out on bail in his earlier cases,” the DA’s office said. “In exchange for his guilty pleas, the court agreed to sentence Akrey to eight years and four months in prison.”
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However, Akrey failed to appear for his court sentencing hearing on April 7, 2022. Warrants for his arrests were then issued for all his cases.
A month and a half later, deputies located Akrey in Lancaster and attempted to arrest him, officials said.
“Akrey refused orders to surrender and used his truck to ram a police vehicle, causing injuries to a deputy,” the DA’s office said. “Akrey drove off and collided with a vehicle at a nearby intersection, injuring a civilian and damaging both vehicles.”
He eventually fled on foot, stole a motorcycle and escaped. Felony charges related to the Lancaster incident are still pending in the Los Angeles Superior Court, the district attorney’s office said.
In June 2022, a deputy unfamiliar with Akrey pulled him and another man over in Thousand Oaks. Akrey, who was the passenger, falsely identified himself to the deputy, the DA’s release stated.
“When the deputy returned to his patrol vehicle to investigate, the driver exited the vehicle and Akrey drove off,” the Ventura County DA said. “A high-speed chase ensued, with Akrey dangerously weaving through traffic on [the 101 Freeway] at speeds of up to 125 miles per hour.”
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Akrey later crashed the vehicle and escaped on foot. He was not apprehended until Jan. 4, 2024, when personnel from the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office determined he was at a hotel in Woodland Hills.
When deputies observed Akrey getting into his truck, they moved in to arrest him, but he again used his truck to ram police vehicles and then attempted to escape on foot. He was eventually subdued and arrested by responding deputies, the DA’s office confirmed.
A search of his truck yielded illegal drugs and evidence of suspected identity theft. As Akrey was arrested in L.A. County, suspected crimes related to this incident will be evaluated by the Los Angeles County District Attorney for potential prosecution.
Akrey is set to serve 16 years in a state prison for the crimes he was convicted for in Ventura County, the DA’s office said.
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