By F. Scott Faulkner
April 11, 2026 – Ventura County, CA
A convicted felon is in custody following a late-night shooting that shattered the front window of
a Thousand Oaks business and endangered the surrounding community.
According to Ventura County Sheriff’s Department spokesman Detective Kenneth Ledesma, in
the pre-dawn hours of April 8, VCSD patrol deputies responded to “a report of vandalism” in a
Thousand Oaks shopping mall. Upon arrival, deputies discovered the business’s front window
had been shattered by a single gunshot.
East County Detectives promptly responded to the scene and “initiated an investigation.” It was
soon determined that an adult male had been outside the business just before midnight on April
7 th when “a single gunshot was fired through the front window and into the building” which was
vacant at the time.
Additional investigation positively identified 24-year-old Simi Valley resident Jack Ballat as the
suspect. A records check revealed Ballat is “a convicted felon and on probation with search
terms prohibiting him from possessing firearms or ammunition.”
Detectives from the East County Special Enforcement Unit quickly located Ballat at a Thousand
Oaks motel, where he was taken into custody without incident.
A subsequent probation search of Ballat’s motel room led to the discovery of a loaded handgun
which was confirmed to have been reported stolen out of Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
Investigators also determined the ammunition matched the spent casing recovered at the scene of
the shooting.
Ballat was transported to Ventura County Jail, where he was booked on multiple felony offenses,
including negligent discharge of a firearm, discharging a firearm at an uninhabited building,
felon in possession of a firearm, felon in possession of ammunition, and carrying a concealed
firearm. He remains in custody on a no-bail hold.
