The Ventura County District Attorney’s Office and the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office today announced that forensic work conducted as part of the Ventura County Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (VCSAKI) led to the indictment of a suspect in four previously unsolved sexual assault cases in Phoenix, Arizona.
The defendant, Abraham Ramirez (DOB 08/19/70), was indicted in Maricopa County Superior Court on 11 counts of sexual assault and kidnapping.
District Attorney Erik Nasarenko announced today that Margarita Jimenez (DOB 02/03/91), of Oxnard, and Jorge Garfias (DOB 08/31/87), of Ventura, have been convicted by a jury of the first-degree murder of Yanelly Vargas. The jury also found true the special allegation that Jimenez personally and intentionally discharged a firearm. Jimenez and Garfias were found not guilty of kidnapping the victim. A court trial on additional special allegations and aggravating factors will take place on Monday September 8, 2025.
The Ventura County Child Exploitation Human Trafficking Task Force, made up of the District Attorney’s Office Bureau of Investigation and the FBI, arrested six people in Ventura County during a two-week enforcement operation targeting the production, distribution, and possession of child sexual abuse material (CSAM). The operation was made successful by the valuable assistance of the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office, Ventura Police Department, Santa Paula Police Department, Oxnard Police Department, and Southern California High Tech Task Force.
The coordinated effort was executed between August 18, 2025, and August 29, 2025. In all, 11 search warrants approved by Superior Court Judges, including three for residential locations, were served for Investigators to obtain vital evidence in these cases.
After a seven-day preliminary hearing, a Ventura County Superior Court Judge has ordered Rotherie Durell Foster (DOB 11/03/85), of Camarillo, to stand trial on 35 felony counts, including the murders of Jose Velasquez and Bill Levy, a violent armed robbery in Fillmore, and a series of financial fraud crimes. The court also held Foster to answer on six special circumstances and all special allegations alleged by prosecutors, including murder for financial gain, personal and intentional discharge of a firearm, and murder by poison.
Foster is scheduled to be arraigned on the information on October 2, 2025, at 9:00 a.m. in courtroom 12 of the Ventura County Superior Court. He remains in custody with no bail.
The Ventura County District Attorney’s Office announced today that following a yearslong investigation, Sean Patrick McNulty (DOB 06/04/59), formerly of Ventura, has been connected to two unsolved home invasion rapes occurring in Ventura in the early 1980s along with four additional home invasion rapes committed in other states. McNulty died in 1997 in Emmett Township, Michigan.
On August 27, 2025, investigators with the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office arrested Kevin John Reynolds (DOB 09/27/84), of Newbury Park, after executing a search warrant at his home. The search warrant was part of an ongoing investigation by the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office Bureau of Investigation Child Exploitation Unit, in coordination with the FBI and the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office.
“The sexual exploitation of our children is one of the most disturbing crimes our investigators confront,” said Chief Investigator Scott Whitney. “Our investigators work tirelessly to identify and arrest those who seek to harm the most vulnerable members of our community.”
Ventura County District Attorney Erik Nasarenko announced today that Kevin Guerrero (DOB 07/05/00), of Ventura, has been charged with forcible rape and kidnapping to commit rape for the sexual assault that occurred near Thille Park on August 11, 2025. He also faces several special allegations and aggravating factors, including strike priors.
Guerrero made his first appearance in a Ventura County courtroom on August 26, 2025. His arraignment was continued to September 22, 2025, at 1:30 p.m. in courtroom 13 of the Ventura County Superior Court. Guerrero remains in custody with no bail and faces 85 years to life in state prison if convicted on all charges.
Ventura County District Attorney Erik Nasarenko announced today that Francisco Garcia (DOB 10/07/68), of Oxnard, has been sentenced to 20 years to life in state prison for the DUI crash that killed Elicia Lopez Hernandez in 2018.
“Elicia Lopez Hernandez was struck down while trying to help others. Her loss and the injury and suffering the defendant caused are tragedies that justice alone cannot heal,” Senior Deputy District Attorney Edward Andrews said. “The sentence today brings accountability and serves to protect the community from a dangerous individual.”
Ventura County District Attorney Erik Nasarenko announced today that Albino Manuel Mendoza (DOB 10/22/73) and Maria Antonia Hernandez (DOB 10/30/82), both of Ventura, have been charged with real estate related crimes, including mortgage fraud and money laundering. Specifically, Mendoza has been charged with one felony count of grand theft, one felony count of mortgage fraud, seven felony counts of money laundering, and one felony count of conspiracy. Hernandez has been charged with one felony count of mortgage fraud, two felony counts of money laundering, and one felony count of conspiracy. Both also face several special allegations and aggravating factors.
Mendoza and Hernandez were arrested on August 26, 2025, by the Ventura Police Department after an extensive investigation by the District Attorney’s Office Real Estate Fraud Unit. Senior Deputy District Attorney Dominic Kardum is the prosecutor handling the case.
Ventura County District Attorney Erik Nasarenko announced today the filing of felony charges against nine defendants accused of participating in the largest organized retail theft case in Home Depot’s history, a multi-county operation responsible for millions of dollars in losses to stores across Southern California.