Ventura Police Department – Incident Press Release
On July 28th at 3:30 AM, the Ventura Police Department Command Center received a call about two suspects tampering with a car in the 1000 block of Santa Clara St. The suspects fled in a vehicle before finishing stealing the catalytic converter, leaving the victim’s car damaged. Ventura Police Patrol officers located the suspect vehicle and pulled it over. Inside officers contacted the three suspects who had four stolen catalytic converters with them.
Ventura Police Street Crimes (SCU) detectives responded to assist in the investigation. Detectives were able to identify two additional victims in Ventura. One catalytic converter was stolen from Howard St and one from Evergreen Dr. The three suspects had tools, a cordless saw, and a car jack with them. There has been a dramatic increase in Ventura County in this type of theft over the last six months. Though this type of crime is hard to protect against, there are mechanics that can modify your vehicle with aftermarket products that make it more difficult for criminals to steal car parts.
All three suspects are from the Los Angeles area. They were arrested and transported to the Ventura County Jail, where they were booked for attempted grand theft, felony vandalism, vehicle tampering, possession of stolen property, and conspiracy.
This is an ongoing investigation. If anyone has information or was the victim of catalytic converter theft from 7/27 – 7/28, please contact the Ventura Police Department Street Crimes Unit.
Suspect(s): Sergio Casteneda (DOB: 10/23/87) Los Angeles resident Erik Gomez-Diaz (DOB: 4/14/85) Los Angeles resident Luis Ramirez-Nunez (DOB: 3/25/79) Los Angeles resident
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