Ventura Police Department – Incident Press Release
On April 11th at 2:28 PM the Ventura Police Department Command Center received a 911 call of a physical domestic inside an apartment at the Peppertree Condos in the 1300 block of Saratoga Ave. The male suspect, later identified as Gilbert Rivera, forced his way into his ex- girlfriend’s condo by breaking a sliding glass door and physically assaulted her once inside. The victim and three of her young children were able to leave the condo, and were met by responding officers. It was reported Rivera armed himself with a knife as the victim fled from the condo and then barricaded himself inside.
The victim received minor injuries to her arms and legs from broken glass. She was treated at the scene. None of the children were injured.
Officers attempted to negotiate with Rivera, but he refused to come out of the condo. While speaking with officers, he repeatedly threated to assault and kill officers. Rivera also threw glass bottles, metal objects and various items at officers who were outside of the condo. He also intentionally lit two fires inside the condo, which caused minor damage.
For the safety of other residents in the building, all the occupants inside the neighboring condos were evacuated.
The Ventura SWAT team was activated and responded to the scene. Crisis negotiators also responded and after approximately 8.5 hours of negotiations, Rivera surrendered and was taken into custody without incident.
Rivera was arrested for felony domestic violence, false imprisonment, burglary, arson, child endangerment, felony resisting police, assault with a deadly weapon, and vandalism. He received minor injuries as a result of this incident.
During the operation, the SWAT team utilized several tactical techniques and equipment to bring the incident to a peaceful resolution. The Ventura County Sheriff’s Department was also called to assist in the operation.
No officers were injured as a result of this incident.
A review of the Ventura County Superior Court website shows that Rivera has prior convictions for DUI and traffic related arrests.
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