Roundup: 1 nabbed for car ramming in Santa Paula; Ventura dry cleaner agrees to pay $32K
Deputies with the Ventura County Sheriff's Office responded to the 19000 block of Telegraph Road around 9:48 p.m. April 24 after the man reportedly drove his vehicle into a car occupied by two adults and two children, according to a news release. The incident occurred in an unincorporated area east of Santa Paula.
Deputies from the Fillmore station investigating the incident identified the driver as a 26-year-old from Santa Paula who was on probation for domestic violence and had an active, out-of-county arrest warrant, sheriff's officials said.
The man is also accused of robbing a person who had a domestic violence restraining order against him, authorities said. He fled the scene before deputies arrived, prompting a manhunt, officials said.
On April 25, the man was located as a passenger inside a vehicle in Santa Paula around 7:40 p.m. and was taken into custody after a traffic stop, authorities said. The driver was not involved.
The man was arrested on suspicion of multiple felonies, including four counts of assault with a deadly weapon and first-degree robbery. He also faces misdemeanors for child endangerment and disobeying a domestic court order, according to jail records.
He was booked in Ventura County jail with bail set at $250,000. He is scheduled to appear in Ventura County Superior Court April 29, court records show.
The owner of a closed Ventura dry cleaning business agreed to pay more than $32,000 for improperly disposing of hazardous waste from the business in 2024.
The Ventura County District Attorney's office said in an April 22 news release it reached a civil settlement with Shija Cho, the former owner of Unique Cleaners at 207 E. Main St., after an investigation into hazardous materials found abandoned in Los Angeles County.
The business closed in June and the next month two 55-gallon drums labeled as hazardous waste from Unique Cleaners were reported abandoned in an alleyway in Reseda.
One drum contained perchloroethylene or PERC, a dry-cleaning solvent regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency. The second drum held used filters and sludge from dry-cleaning operations, the DA's office said.
The agency's Consumer and Environmental Protection Unit investigated the case. Evidence, including interviews, photographs, lab reports and hazardous waste manifests, showed that the drums were unlawfully transported and abandoned off-site.
Unique Cleaners failed to provide legally required documentation showing that the waste was collected or disposed of through a licensed hazardous waste hauler, the DA's office said.
'This case reinforces the responsibility business owners have to manage toxic waste responsibly, from generation to final disposal,' said District Attorney Erik Nasarenko in the news release.
Individuals and businesses that generate hazardous waste are responsible for its proper storage, transportation and disposal through licensed facilities under state law, the DA's office said.
As part of the settlement, Cho agreed to pay $32,065 in civil penalties and costs. The settlement also includes court-ordered terms requiring compliance with hazardous waste laws at Cho's new dry-cleaning business in Camarillo.
Authorities arrested two Los Angeles men suspected of burglarizing the North Ranch Country Club pro shop in Thousand Oaks the morning of April 24.
The burglary took place at the pro shop at 4761 Valley Spring Drive shortly after 6:30 a.m., the Ventura County Sheriff's Office previously reported. The sheriff's office is contracted to provide police services for the city of Thousand Oaks.
Deputies at the scene learned that two suspects had just broken into the building and stolen property before fleeing in a stolen vehicle, according to a news release. The vehicle was not reported stolen at the time of the alleged burglary, sheriff's officials said.
Investigators located the vehicle and the two suspects in Los Angeles around noon the same day with help from Los Angeles Police Department.
The two men, 61 and 48, were arrested on suspicion of felonies for burglary and conspiracy to commit a crime. The 61-year-old was also arrested for a felony warrant from outside the county.
The men were booked into the Ventura County jail with bail set at $300,000 each. They were scheduled to appear in court April 28, according to jail and court records.
The sheriff's office is investigating the incident, and anyone with information is asked to call 805-371-8396.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Roundup: 1 nabbed in Santa Paula car rammng; Ventura dry cleaner fined
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