Notable Cases

The Ventura County District Attorney’s Office successfully prosecuted one of the largest real estate investment fraud schemes uncovered in the county involving victim losses exceeding $3 million.

In August 2007, Calvin Sharp chased down, attacked, and brutally killed a 6-year-old boy, Sev'n Molina, with a meat cleaver. When Sev'n's mother, Sandra Ruiz, tried to stop the attack, Sharp attacked her as well, causing major life-long injuries. A neighbor, Diane Cox, also attempted to intervene and suffered serious injuries at the hands of Sharp.

Victim Beatrice Bellis, age 87, was deaf and functionally mute. She lived at the Mar Vista apartment complex, an elder care facility located in Port Hueneme, California. In June 1993, an unknown assailant slipped into her unlocked apartment, stabbed her repeatedly with a large kitchen knife, and raped her as she bled to death. The perpetrator cleaned up in the bathroom then fled from the building in the dead of night. Despite an intense investigation and neighborhood canvass, the Port Hueneme Police Department was initially unable to develop evidence leading to a culpable suspect.

The Ventura County District Attorney's Office's Consumer and Environmental Unit, with 19 other California District Attorneys, the California Attorney General, and the city attorneys in San Diego and Los Angeles settled a civil law enforcement action filed against Target Corporation.

Randolph Kling was a lifelong criminal and con artist who spent most of his adult years incarcerated for 18 separate felony convictions. During his criminal endeavors Kling created or stole more than 100 identities.

On February 8, 2019, a malfunction of fruit washing equipment at the Association's facility triggered the release of commercial grade sodium hypochlorite into the air. Sodium hypochlorite is the active ingredient in household bleach and is used to sterilize fruit prior to packing. Two local schools, Blanchard Elementary School and Briggs School, were required to shelter in place due to the incident.

On June 2, 2018, the Ventura Harbor District (VHD) was notified that Albatro was listing in its slip. Upon arriving on scene, VHD observed red dye diesel in the water surrounding the sinking boat. The United States Coast Guard and the VHD immediately performed containment and cleanup efforts to control and collect the fuel spill. During the cleanup, 24 drums of hazardous waste and contaminated debris were recovered from the harbor and transported to a licensed disposal facility.

On February 19, 2019, a Sun Air employee was filling a 3,000 gallon mobile refueler truck containing jet A-1 fuel. A refueler overfill protection device malfunctioned, resulting in a significant amount of jet fuel being released into the environment.

On February 9, 2021, routine maintenance activities on the commercial fishing boat "El Dorado," captained by Aliotti, caused a substantial amount of paint debris to float into the harbor and coat nearby aquatic life. Aliotti fully cooperated with the investigation and instituted remedial measures shortly thereafter to ensure a similar incident does not occur in the future.

On April 29, 2020, DFW was notified that maintenance was occurring at the Ventura Harbor on the vessel "Islander", operated by Island Packers. The maintenance involved sanding the deck of the boat without any containment measures in place. This resulted in substantial paint related debris floating into the harbor. Immediately after the incident, Island Packers fully cooperated with the investigation and instituted remedial measures to ensure a similar incident does not occur again in the future. This settlement is the result of a joint investigation conducted by the DFW and the District Attorney’s Office Consumer and Environmental Protection Unit.