November 17, 2022
District Attorney Erik Nasarenko has announced charges against three members of a South American Theft Group, all identified by Customs and Border Protection’s National Targeting Center as Chilean nationals. On November 9, 2022, the three defendants are accused of breaking into a Thousand Oaks home.
November 16, 2022
District Attorney Erik Nasarenko has announced a guilty plea in the case involving defendant Michael Seidman, of Thousand Oaks. On Tuesday, November 15, 2022, Seidman pled guilty to gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and driving a motor vehicle without a valid driver’s license.
November 15, 2022
District Attorney Erik Nasarenko announced today that Zarbab Ali (DOB 01/04/97), of Hawthorne, has been charged with the murder of Simi Valley resident Rachel Castillo.
AT&T Agrees to Nearly $6 Million Statewide Environmental Settlement
The Ventura County District Attorney and the Santa Cruz County District Attorney were lead counsel in a civil prosecution of AT&T which led to a $5.9 million settlement for environmental violations. AT&T failed to report the location of numerous hazardous materials (batteries) with the California Environmental Reporting System (CERS) at more than 3,000 sites across the state of California. AT&T self-reported the apparent oversight and cooperated with the statewide investigation. Ventura and Santa Cruz Counties each received more than $700,000 as a result of this settlement and the 56 other California counties and impacted regulatory agencies split the remainder of the $5.9 million.
November 14, 2022
The Ventura County District Attorney’s Office will have a specialized prosecution team that handles alcohol and drug-impaired driving cases through a $427,117 grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS).
November 10, 2022
District Attorney Erik Nasarenko announced that charges have been filed against three men who are accused of attempting to burglarize a Camarillo residence in Spanish Hills Estates.
November 9, 2022
District Attorney Erik Nasarenko announced today that convicted child sex offender, Travis Edward Martin (DOB 06/08/85), of Santa Paula, was sentenced to 610 years to life in prison.
November 8, 2022
District Attorney Erik Nasarenko announced today that charges were filed against two suspected bank robbers. Anthony Edwards (DOB 04/09/86), of Los Angeles, and Alicia Brown (DOB 11/06/88), of Los Angeles, were arraigned in the Ventura County Superior Court on November 7, 2022. Both defendants entered pleas of not guilty.
Mental Health Unit
Our Mental Health Unit is comprised of five attorneys and one paralegal handling mental health treatment courts (Mental Health Court, Mental Health Diversion, and Veteran’s Treatment Court), cases involving individuals that are incompetent to stand trial, gun forfeitures, and civil commitments. To more humanely address the too-common crossover between mental health conditions and criminal behavior, the District Attorney’s Office created a Mental Health Unit in 2021. With two mental health unit attorney positions having been approved last year by the Board of Supervisors, the unit is currently comprised of four attorneys and one paralegal, who handle Mental Health Court, Mental Health Diversion, Veteran’s Treatment Court, and civil mental health commitments. These specialty courts focus on treatment of the underlying mental illness and successful completion of an approved treatment plan that can result in dismissal of their pending charges. In addition, cases involving defendants who are severely mentally ill and dangerous,…