Ventura County Sheriff – Incident Press Release
On August 31st, 2020 patrol deputies were dispatched to a death investigation in the Silver Strand Beach community in Oxnard. Upon arrival, deputies believed the death to caused by an overdose based on items located at the scene. Narcotics Detectives assigned to the Pharmaceutical Crimes Unit responded to assist with the investigation. Additional evidence was gathered in this case and was later processed which identified Reed Smith as a suspect.
On September 24th, 2020, Smith was located after leaving his residence in Crenshaw area located within the City of Los Angeles and arrested for 11352(a) HS and 11379(a) HS – Furnishing a controlled substance. Smith was interviewed and then booked into custody at the Pre-Trial Detention Facility in Ventura. Smith is still in custody, with his bail set at $50,000.
Additional charges related to the death are being considered by the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office.
The public may contact investigators from the Ventura County Interagency Pharmaceutical Crimes Unit at (805) 383-8700 or [email protected] with additional information about this case, or any other information related to narcotics.
The Ventura County Pharmaceutical Crimes Unit is a task force made up of members from the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office, Thousand Oaks Police Department, the Ventura Police Department; The primary mission of the task force is combatting the transfer of legal prescription medication to the illegal market. In addition, the task force works to identify and stop new trends of abuse among the younger population and investigates overdoses due to both prescription medication and illicit drug use.
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