Ventura County Sheriff – Incident Press Release
On August 30, 2019, a Thousand Oaks Police Department patrol deputy was dispatched to the “VC Defense” business located at 3166 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd. in reference to a theft of assault rifle parts. Through the deputy’s investigation, he was able to identify the theft suspect as Edward Kolodziej. The deputy provided the Directed Enforcement Unit (DEU) with the information and they conducted a follow-up investigation, resulting in the arrest of Kolodziej for possession of numerous assault weapons and numerous other felony charges.
During the course of the investigation, the DEU found that Edward Kolodziej was a prohibited person under Penal Code 29800, and was not to be in possession of any weapons or ammunition. During the investigation, the DEU determined that Kolodziej lived at an address in Simi Valley. In addition, Kolodziej was documented as a member of the Conejo Valley Locals “CVLS” criminal street gang from the city of Thousand Oaks.
On September 27, 2019, the DEU and Moorpark P.D. investigations contacted Kolodziej away from his residence and found him to be in possession of a loaded semi-automatic handgun in his waistband and illegal narcotics. During a search of his vehicle, an additional loaded semi- automatic handgun was located under the driver’s seat.
A search warrant was served at Kolodziej’s residence. During a search of Kolodziej’s residence, a large amount of ammunition, illegal firearms, and stolen assault rifle parts were located and seized.
In total, Kolodziej was in possession of five assault weapons, two rifles, one sawed-off shotgun, four handguns, two silencers, and eight high-capacity ammunition magazines. Kolodziej had thousands of rounds of live ammunition, including armor piercing rounds. Detectives also found evidence that Kolodziej manufactured the assault weapons and they were not legally registered. Detectives located evidence of “CVLS” gang affiliation inside of the residence along with narcotics paraphernalia.
Kolodziej was subsequently booked at the East County Jail for various violations of the California Penal Code:
Section 29800 – Felon in possession of a firearm (multiple counts) Section 25400(a)(1) – Concealed firearm (multiple counts)
Section 27545 – Unlawful transfer of firearm (multiple counts) Section 30605(a) – Possession of assault weapon (multiple counts) Section 33410 – Possession of a silencer (multiple counts)
Section 30600(a) – Manufacturing assault weapon (multiple counts) Section 30315 – Armor piercing ammunition rounds
Section 186.22 – Street Terrorism
Kolodziej was also arrested for Health & Safety Code Section 11370.1-Possession of narcotics while in possession of a firearm. Kolodziej’s bail was set at $500,000 and he remains in custody pending court proceedings.
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