News Releases

Ventura County District Attorney Erik Nasarenko announced today that Gonzalo Garcia Rodriguez (DOB 03/05/01), of Salinas, has been charged with the first-degree murder of Eugenio Lopez Ramirez. Garcia Rodriguez also faces special allegations and aggravating circumstances, including use of a deadly weapon, causing great bodily injury, and that the victim was vulnerable. He pled not guilty to all charges at today’s arraignment.

Garcia Rodriguez is scheduled to return to court for an early disposition conference on April 21, 2025, at 1:30 p.m. in courtroom 12 of the Ventura County Superior Court. He remains in custody without bail.

District Attorney Erik Nasarenko announced today that Charity Faith Wiley (DOB 09/21/85), of Reseda, has been charged with second-degree murder for the death of a Simi Valley man. Wiley is accused of selling a deadly synthetic drug mixture of fentanyl and xylazine to the victim who overdosed and died. She is also charged with 17 additional felonies related to her alleged drug possession, sales activity, and transfer of a firearm. Wiley faces several special allegations, including that the victim was vulnerable and the crime involved a large quantity of contraband.

District Attorney Erik Nasarenko announced today that Marcelino Arias Arca (DOB 06/19/56), of Oxnard, was convicted by a jury of six felony counts of lewd acts upon a child. The jury found true the special allegation that there were multiple victims. Arca admitted to other special allegations regarding a prior strike conviction for molestation.

“I applaud the two victims for their extraordinary courage in coming forward and facing their abuser,” Senior Prosecutor Ben Moreno said. “Because of their bravery, this defendant will never again have the opportunity to harm a child. I also want to thank the jury for their careful attention to the evidence and their commitment to justice. Although today’s verdict cannot undue the harm the defendant caused, I hope it gives the victims the closure they so desperately deserve.”

Ventura County District Attorney Erik Nasarenko announced today that  Claudia Portugal Cornejo (DOB 10/26/72), of Fillmore, was sentenced to twelve months in jail for defrauding COVID-19 relief programs and stealing more than $101,000 from the County of Ventura, the State of California, and individual victims. An additional twenty-eight months in jail was suspended as a term of her felony probation. Cornejo pleaded guilty on October 21, 2024, to five felonies: two counts of grand theft, presentation of a fraudulent claim, false personation, and conspiracy to commit a crime.

“The defendant stole tens of thousands of dollars from taxpayers and hardworking individuals, lining her own pockets at the expense of those in real need,” District Attorney Erik Nasarenko said. “Through the hard work and investigative eye of the Sheriff’s Office and County CEO’s Office, her schemes were exposed and brought to the attention of our prosecutors.”

For the past two years, the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office Government Fraud Unit was part of a joint investigation with the Los Angeles FBI office into widespread EBT skimming fraud. This investigation contributed to an international law enforcement effort to dismantle the Dorneanu Organized Crime Group, a Romanian criminal organization linked to the theft of hundreds of millions of dollars in California welfare funds, including funds stolen from Ventura County residents.

The Ventura County District Attorney’s Office is actively seeking two Romanian defendants with outstanding Ventura County felony warrants for EBT skimming fraud. Paul Kimpian (aka Roman Janecek) and Marius Vlaic, known affiliates of the Dorneanu Organized Crime Group, were previously arrested by the District Attorney’s Bureau of Investigation, and charged with more than a dozen felony counts, including conspiracy and grand theft, related to several instances of CalWORKs theft using cloned EBT cards. Each posted $50,000 bail in April of 2023 and are alleged to have violated bail terms by cutting off GPS ankle monitors and fleeing. If you have information about their whereabouts, please contact your local law enforcement agency or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS.

A San Jose judge has ordered a network of car dealerships owned and operated as subsidiaries of AutoNation, Inc., one of the country’s largest automobile sellers, to pay $650,000 to resolve a consumer protection action related to the sale of used vehicles.

The payments were ordered as part of a settlement stemming from a lawsuit filed in Santa Clara County Superior Court by the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office and five other California District Attorneys. The dealerships were accused of violating state laws requiring the timely transfer of registration and ownership of used vehicles. California law mandates that used car dealers submit an application to the DMV to transfer registration to a buyer within 30 days of the date of sale. The same 30-day deadline applies to the transfer of the certificate of ownership, or “pink slip,” with extensions allowed only if the DMV returns an application due to missing information.

District Attorney Erik Nasarenko announced today that Caleb Dean DeBinion (DOB 10/12/88), of Thousand Oaks, was convicted by a jury on February 21, 2025, for the rape and sexual assault of a woman in a motel room. The jury found DeBinion guilty of forcible rape, false imprisonment, forcible oral copulation, sexual battery, and two counts of sexual penetration by force or fear. Following the verdict, DeBinion was remanded into custody pending sentencing.

“I extend my sincere gratitude to the victim for her bravery in facing her accuser in court. We are grateful she was able to obtain the justice she deserves,” Deputy District Attorney Rosa Romero said. “I also want to thank the jury for their careful and thorough consideration of all the evidence.”

Ventura County District Attorney Erik Nasarenko announced today that Austin Allen Eis (DOB 05/29/98), of Camarillo, has pleaded guilty to 10 felony charges and special allegations related to a series of violent attacks on April 18, 2023. Eis pled guilty in Ventura County Superior Court to the first-degree murder of 15-year-old Wesley Welling, multiple counts of premeditated attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon, and false imprisonment by violence. Each count Eis pled guilty to is a strike offense. He also admitted to special allegations, including personal use of a car and knife as a deadly weapon, and inflicting great bodily injury.