The Ventura County District Attorney’s Office announced today that Mysti Lee Ary (DOB 01/29/77), of Bakersfield, has been charged with felony fleeing the scene of an accident causing permanent, serious injury for a June 15, 2025, accident along Pacific Coast Highway (PCH). Ary made her first court appearance today in Ventura County Superior Court where she pled not guilty.

Ventura County District Attorney Erik Nasarenko announced today that a 17-year-old juvenile has been charged with Penal Code section 422.3(a), a new criminal threats law that took effect on January 1, 2026. The charge stems from a threat to carry out a school shooting at R.J. Frank Academy Middle School in Oxnard.

Penal Code section 422.3(a) makes it a crime to threaten death or great bodily injury to people at schools, daycare centers, workplaces, houses of worship, or medical facilities, including threats made by phone calls, text messages, images, or online posts. The law was created to allow law enforcement to intervene when threats cause fear and disruption, even if no weapon is ultimately found. While similar to the existing criminal threat statute, it differs in that the threat may be made towards a location and need not be made to a specific person.

“This new law gives law enforcement and prosecutors an important tool to address credible threats before violence occurs,” said District Attorney Nasarenko. “Threats against schools will always be taken seriously, and early intervention is critical to keeping our students and educators safe.”

District Attorney Erik Nasarenko announced today that Thomas James Syslo (DOB 05/19/92), of Torrence, was charged with murder for the 2023 fatal fentanyl overdose of Freddy Dijor in Thousand Oaks. Syslo also faces felony charges for possession of fentanyl for sale and two counts of money laundering. He made his first appearance on January 26, 2026, in Ventura County Superior Court and pled not guilty to all charges.

Ventura County District Attorney Erik Nasarenko announced today that Christian Octavio Arreola (DOB 01/16/94), of Port Hueneme, has been charged with multiple felonies stemming from a violent attack on a Port Hueneme police officer earlier this month.

Arreola is charged with attempted murder, assault upon a peace officer, battery with injury on a peace officer, and resisting an executive officer. The complaint further alleges that the crime involved great violence, that Arreola was armed with and used a weapon, and includes a special allegation related to the attempted murder of a peace officer.

“This was an attack on a police officer who was responding to a mental health crisis and attempting to protect both the individual involved and the community,” said District Attorney Nasarenko. “Violence against law enforcement officers will not be tolerated, and my office will aggressively prosecute those who commit these dangerous crimes.”

Ventura County District Attorney Erik Nasarenko announced today that Ida Veronica Hernandez (DOB 06/27/80) pleaded guilty on January 21, 2026, to seven felony counts of grand theft and one felony count of filing a false or forged document, arising from an extensive embezzlement scheme committed while she was employed as a bookkeeper for a Thousand Oaks medical practice. Hernandez also admitted a special allegation that the losses exceeded $100,000.

Between 2020 and 2021, Hernandez was entrusted with access to company bank accounts and financial records in her role as office manager and bookkeeper. Instead of using that access for legitimate business purposes, Hernandez transferred large sums of the business’s money into bank accounts controlled by herself and her relatives. Investigators determined that Hernandez used multiple aliases and created fictitious employees to conceal the thefts, directing payroll payments to accounts she controlled. Hernandez stole at least $556,000 from the business.