Car chase leads to island

SANTA PAULA — According to Santa Paula police records supervisor Dianne Miller, final reports have been compiled on evidence accumulated over the past week regarding an unusual car chase that led authorities off the mainland and onto an island just a quarter-mile off Pacific Coast Highway.

It was in the early evening of June 8 when David Carrillo reportedly had a cacophonous imbroglio within a local Santa Paula condominium residence reaching its crescendo with the reports of a woman screaming inside the home. A local resident out for an evening stroll with her canine companion observed Carrillo alighting from the condominium unit’s balcony and fleeing on foot, with several of the complex residents pursuing him on foot.

In a telephone interview with Ventura County sheriff’s spoeksman Capt. Ross Bonfiglio, he said local area police had a prior response history with respect to Carrillo’s behavior, “but this was the first time the neighbors got involved.”

With those neighbors at his heels, Carrillo found a nearby vehicle unoccupied with the engine running and allegedly stole it, quickly driving beyond the Santa Paula city limits. At that time, according to Capt. Bonfiglio, sheriff’s units were notified of the vehicle theft, and Carrillo was quickly spotted heading west on Highway 126 toward U.S. 101. Soon thereafter, Santa Paula police reported that Carrillo was wanted on prior charges of assault with a deadly weapon. Sheriff’s patrol units maintained contact with the stolen vehicle onto U.S. 101 northbound, where California Highway Patrol units joined the pursuit.

Driving at speeds ranging up to 80 mph, Carrillo left the Ventura city limits, heading northward toward the Ventura-Santa Barbara county line. Immediately prior to reaching that frontier, however, Carrillo quickly veered westward — toward the Pacific Ocean a mere 200 yards away — and careened through the Mussel Shoals residential community to the locked gates leading to Rincon Island, an oil facility currently operated by Greka Energy. He then drove down the entire 3000-foot length of the steel causeway, with multiple CHP and sheriff’s units closely following.

With nowhere to go but into the 55-foot deep water, Carrillo gave up the chase and was arrested without further incident. He was booked on charges of assault with a deadly weapon, domestic violence, and auto theft.

“He would’ve needed a boat to go any further,” said Miller, the records supervisor.