NEWS RELEASE
On August 17, 2022, at approximately 7:24 p.m., patrol officers from the Oxnard Police Department were in the 800 block of W. Wooley Road, handling a call for service. When the officers returned to their vehicles, they observed a vehicle blocking the police units.
Officers were contacted by the driver of the vehicle, who was uncooperative and claimed to be armed with a firearm. The suspect, Pablo Reyes Cervantes, refused to comply with the officer’s commands.
The Oxnard Police SWAT Team and K-9 Unit responded along with Crisis Negotiations Team members. After several minutes of negotiations and despite several commands requesting him to comply, Cervantes turned from officers and attempted to leave the area. A less-lethal device was deployed to stop Cervantes from fleeing. Cervantes then began to reach toward his pockets. Oxnard PD K-9 “Rocky” was deployed, and Cervantes was taken into custody.
Cervantes was found to be in possession of two loaded handguns, four loaded handgun magazines and over 200 rounds of ammunition. Cervantes was arrested for several firearms-related offenses and resisting arrest. He was transported to the Ventura County Medical Center for further treatment before being booked for the violations.
Anyone with information regarding this case or other criminal activity is encouraged to contact the Oxnard Police Department at (805) 385-7600, or online via the Oxnard Police Department’s website: www.oxnardpd.org, and clicking on Report Suspicious Activity. You can remain anonymous if you choose to do so. You can remain anonymous by calling the Ventura County Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-8477. You can also visit this site: www.venturacountycrimestoppers.org to submit a tip via text or email. Booking photographs for adult felony arrest available on the department website: www.oxnardpd.org under crime & safety, and booking / call logs.
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Unanswered in this article is the question of whether Mr. Cervantes had a prior felony conviction. Let me go out on a limb here. The probable answer is: Wait for it — not only did he have a prior felony conviction, he was on early release from prison and on early release parole.
Now maybe I am wrong and this is Mr. Cervantes’ first felonious interaction with law enforcement. Anyone want to bet me that I am right and this is not his first felonious interaction with law enforcement? Any takers?
How many article like this have appeared this week? I haven’t been keeping tally, but I know this is the second one I have commented on. And we still have the weekend. Or will we add the weekend to next week’s tally?
While there is no comment on Mr. Cervantes’ possible criminal record, so such a record is speculation based on past experiences, assuming Mr. Cervantes has such a record, it further illustrates what I have been saying for over 40 years, that we don’t have a criminal justice system. We have an assured work program for law enforcement, the courts and all the ancillary support people associated with those two processes. Which could all be eliminated or significantly reduced if we kept career criminals in prison. The cost of keeping them incarcerated versus the cost to society of folks like Mr. Cervantes remaining on the streets to be processed over and over again makes prison incarceration cheap.
Where do you suppose Mr. Cervantes obtained his small armory of weaponry? I guarantee he didn’t obtain it at Big Five or Camarillo Gun Supply or Turner’s. He bought them on the street and the most likely source was a burglary where they were stolen. An shining example of how ineffective California’s plethora of gun laws is/are (is plethora a singular noun or a plural noun or writer’s choice?)