Ventura County – The terms of felony probation and parole in California commonly provide for a strict prohibition against the possession of weapons of any sort by parolees, particularly firearms. This proscription, clearly legislated in the interests of public safety, are well known to anyone who has been a guest of the California Department of Corrections, and those found in possession of knives, brass knuckles, and guns are presumed to be in willful violation of their parole terms.
With that awareness, Detectives from the Oxnard Police Department Street Narcotic Team, working in concert with the area Probation Department, arrived at the home of Paul Francisco Torres, 34, in the late afternoon of May 28th to determine his compliance with his Post Release Offender Program. According to Oxnard Police Department spokesman Sgt. Charles Woodruff, Torres had been a beneficiary of Assembly Bill 109, manding that “individuals sentenced to non-violent, non-serious or non-sex offenses” serve their sentences in county jails rather than in state prison.
But when Torres, aware that he was wanted on a drug-related felony warrant, spotted the cops walking into his backyard that afternoon, he attempted to flee into the garage. Shortly thereafter, according to Woodruff, he “emerged from the garage and was taken into custody.” As is often the case, Torres was in the company of others who were also contacted by the officers at the scene, including Jose Petris, 33, and a 15-year-old female juvenile subsequently determined to be a runaway from the Camarillo area.
Also found in the garage was a semi-automatic handgun, in direct violation of Torres’ terms of probation. Torres was taken into custody and transported to Ventura County Jail where he was booked on charges of being a felon in possession of a handgun. Petris was found to be in possession of controlled substances and was booked on multiple narcotics violations, while the juvenile female was returned to her family.
Photo: Courtesy Ventura County Jail Booking
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VCSTAR: Felon arrested in connection with a firearm
EdHat: Handgun arrest
