Ten Warrants, Ten Arrests
Ventura County – Traffic must have been heavier than usual in the pre-dawn hours of September 14th throughout the sleepy residential neighborhoods of Moorpark, in eastern Ventura County. It was on that morning that detectives from the Moorpark Police Department, working in well-coordinated choreographed concert with other task force groups from the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department, dropped in at no less than ten individual residences with search warrants in hand.
The warrants, served with practical simultaneity, had been issued the day prior by the Ventura County Superior Court pursuant to an ongoing investigation into two gang-related shootings that took place August 11th and 13th in Moorpark, and were targeted upon specific individuals believed to have active connection to criminal gangs in the area. According to Ventura County Sheriff spokesman Sgt. Jeff Miller, “as a result of these coordinated searches, many other crimes were discovered,” with an arrest of individual Moorpark residents occurring at each location served by the warrants.
Edgar Godinez, 31, was arrested for possession of a controlled substance with intent to sell. Clark Ryan Mendoza, 23, and Alfredo Gutierrez, 36, were each arrested for child endangerment. Jose Christobal Ayala was arrested for possession of a controlled substance, while Michael Lopez, 39, Randy Joe Gomez, 38, Anthony Tito Gomez, 39, and Tiffany Nicole Davis, 21, were all arrested for being under the influence of a controlled substance. Larry John Reyes, 22, was arrested for parole violation and Ricardo Mendoza, 23, was arrested on an outstanding warrant.
The shootings that were the initial subject of the warrants remain under investigation, with Ventura County East County Major Crimes Unit seeking additional information from the public and Ventura County Crime Stoppers offering a reward of $1,000 for information leading to the arrest of those involved. Citizens are urged to call anonymously to Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS.
Read more:
ABC 7: 10 Arrested in August Moorpark Gang Shootings
Moorpark Patch: Search Warrants Lead to 10 Arrests
