Jeri Williams Chief of Police

Oxnard Police Department R. Jason Benites Assistant Chief Scott Whitney Assistant Chief

OXNARD POLICE DEPARTMENT

NEWS RELEASE

DETAILS: The Oxnard Police Department joins 63 cities in California who have partnered with Nextdoor.com – a private social network – to make it easier for neighbors to communicate with and about issues that matter most in their neighborhoods and our community. It is free and private for neighbors and neighborhoods in Oxnard to use.

 
“Research shows that aside from immediate family and closest friendships, one shares most in common and needs with immediate neighbors and those who live in close proximity – in large part due to where they live naturally, spend most of their time, the schools around them that their children may attend, as well as resources and services they need and share,” says Miguel Lopez, Oxnard Police Community Affairs Manager.
 
In recent years, local and federal government agencies have looked for public-private partnerships to enhance our reach, bring people together, and augment the services we are able to provide.  Aside from the 63 cities in California, Nextdoor has more than 20,000 neighborhoods across the United States using this private-neighborhood network in many ways.
 
Nextdoor is a neighbors-only website that is password-protected and private to you and your neighbors.  Members must verify that they live in the neighborhood before they can join Nextdoor, including having a neighbor already in the private network approve and verify your residence. After that, you can check activities and post at your leisure or have readily available by app on your phone or tablet, anytime.
 
“We, at the Oxnard Police Department, believe that a sense of community lends toward safe neighborhoods.  In today’s world, it is common to encounter neighborhoods in which people don’t know who lives on their own block. Neighbors who know each other interact and communicate with each other, and as a result, tend to look out for and take care of each other,” said Assistant Police Chief Jason Benites.  “Neighbors who communicate are more likely to know what is suspicious or out of place, and are more likely to share information.  They are also more likely to report suspicious activity to the police – and this helps us to address crime problems,” Benites added.
 
Further, Nextdoor takes added steps to secure your privacy, and none of the information you share on Nextdoor is available on search engines.
 
In our partnership, Oxnard Police has worked with Nextdoor to create the city recognized neighborhoods to make it easy to connect with your neighbors and build a stronger and safer place to call home.  It will also make it easier for Oxnard Police to keep community members and neighbors informed about important crime and public safety issues.
 
“This effort will be but another tool the Oxnard Police uses to help build community and communicate with community members and neighbors. Is it a catch-all? No. Will people have reservations? Yes, in the same way some people are still hesitant to join Facebook or were uneasy about Google when it first was created; but, this is a smaller private network amongst neighbors and neighborhoods. It is an individual choice people will make – and one we hope they find of use and utility, that we will utilize to share crime and public safety information,” Lopez added.
 
Oxnard residents can use their Nextdoor neighborhood website to:
·         Recruit more residents to participate in crime watch efforts, neighborhood watch, or neighborhood council,
·         Report suspicious activity and local crime, as well as receive important safety information from Oxnard Police,
·         Find trustworthy local resources, such as babysitters, plumbers, dentist, gardner, handy-man, etc;
·         Organize neighborhood events, such as garage sales and block parties,
·         Get assistance to find lost pets and missing packages,
·         Promote items for sale/free and inquire about items for purchase.
 
“By using Nextdoor.com, information can be quickly shared with neighbors, making it an effective ‘neighborhood watch’ tool,” said Assistant Chief Benites.   
 
With our launch today, the Oxnard Police Department will begin to post crime and public safety information on neighborhood pages.  The information will include crime maps, as well as crime prevention tips.  Our Beat Coordinators will also post neighborhood-specific information on an as-needed basis.
 
Prior to Oxnard’s citywide launch, nearly a thousand people have already signed up and are using Nextdoor, across Oxnard, including Riverpark, Lemonwood, Sea Air and many other neighborhoods.
 
If you are interested in joining your Nextdoor neighborhood website, go to nextdoor.com/Oxnard and enter your address.

If you have any questions during the sign-up process, you can contact Nextdoor Support at help.nextdoor.com.
 
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DATE / TIME PREPARED:  November 3, 2013

Jeri Williams Chief of Police

Oxnard Police Department R. Jason Benites Assistant Chief Scott Whitney Assistant Chief

OXNARD POLICE DEPARTMENT

NEWS RELEASE

DETAILS:
(OXNARD, Calif) Thirty deserving and needy children (ages 6 to 12) – one from each elementary schools in in Oxnard School District as well as the private schools in the area – were invited to the 3^rd annual Heroes & Helpers event at Target at the Collection at RiverPark, tomorrow. 
 
Low-income students will be paired with a uniformed Oxnard Police Department officer for a $200 shopping spree at Target.  In addition to shopping, the kids will be treated to a breakfast provided by Panera Bread, photos with Santa (Oxnard Councilman Bryan McDonald), and holiday crafts.  Presents purchased for family members will be wrapped on-site by Department civilian volunteers.
 
Last year, the cop & kid teams dispersed throughout the Target store to spend their $165 gift card any way they chose.  It was awesome to see how so many of the children shopped first for gifts for their siblings and parents before they even thought of selecting something for themselves.  It’s incredibly reassuring and heartwarming to witness children who live everyday with little still find it in themselves to act so selflessly and think first of others before they think to indulge themselves. 
 
Heroes & Helpers was originally made possible by a $1,500 grant from Target with a matching $1,000 contribution toward the event by the Oxnard Peace Officer’s Association (OPOA). OPOA doubled Target’s donation this year and generously gave $2,000.  Target and The Collection each donated $1,000.  The Oxnard community came together to make this year extra special through additional financial donations, these sponsors are Mr. Ivan Chacon and Truth Realty, Tacos by Don Chente, A to Z Law, the Oxnard Police K9 Foundation, and Mr. Al Jones.
 
“For our Department, this day has become a special one that many of us look forward to.  The smile on the kids’ faces, our Officers faces, and everyone who supports this program and makes it possible—the joy you show and share is evident of what is good in our community,” said Oxnard Police Chief Jeri Williams.
 
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DATE / TIME PREPARED:  December 11, 2012, 11:50 a.m.

Jeri Williams Chief of Police

Oxnard Police Department R. Jason Benites Assistant Chief Scott Whitney Assistant Chief

OXNARD POLICE DEPARTMENT

NEWS RELEASE

DETAILS: On January 17, 2009 at approximately 8 PM, officers from the Oxnard Police Department responded to a call of a fight with shots fired in the 2700 block of El Dorado Ave. Upon the officer’s arrival, they located two victims who had sustained stab wounds. A third victim showed up at the hospital an hour after the incident with a minor stab wound.  The 28 year old homicide victim, later identified as Alfredo Vargas, underwent emergency surgery and died at approximately 2:30 am the following morning.

 
In July of 2013, the investigation into this murder resulted in criminal indictments against four Lemonwood Chiques gang members, charging each with murder for their involvement in this attack.  These four subjects, Jonathan Gallegos, Alexis Ramirez, Jorge Cervantes and Guillermo Galvan are currently in-custody, awaiting trial. 
 
The investigation into this murder has remained active, with investigators assigned to the Cold Case Task Force continuing to pursue the outstanding suspects responsible for this murder.  On Tuesday, February 18, 2014, investigators arrested a fifth suspect, Alejandro Jimenez, for his role in this murder.  Jimenez, who was in the custody of the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department on unrelated charges at the time of his arrest, was charged with Murder, with special allegations that the crime was committed for the benefit of a criminal street gang and that Jimenez personally discharged a firearm during this crime. 
 
The success of this investigation is the result of countless hours of investigation and a cooperative effort involving multiple law enforcement agencies including the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office and the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department.  The investigation into the murder of Alfredo Vargas is ongoing, and members of the public are asked to contact Detective Mike Young at (805) 385-7606 or mike.young@oxnardpd.org if they have any information about this incident.  A previous booking photograph of Jimenez has been attached to this press release.
 

Jeri Williams Chief of Police

Oxnard Police Department R. Jason Benites Assistant Chief Scott Whitney Assistant Chief

OXNARD POLICE DEPARTMENT

NEWS RELEASE

DETAILS: On 3/12/2014, at about 2:20 pm, Oxnard Police Department officers were dispatched to a call of a student who had made a threat towards other students at Oceanview Junior High.

 
The threat came in the form of a video recording where the student had a gun and was shown to manipulate the magazine. In this recording, the student threatened to kill two other students and members of his family. 
 
The video recording was emailed to another student, who did the right and responsible thing by informing school administration.
 
Since the minor making the threats as well as two would-be-victims were all students, the school was placed on lockdown. Officers responded immediately, and school resource officers were able to make contact with the students. 
 
It was determined that the students were all friends and had made the video together. Also, the gun shown, turned out to be an air-soft replica gun. There did not appear to be any other threat.
 
For students and schools, incidents like this can disrupt the learning environment. For parents, families, and our community, it brings an unnecessary worry.
 
The Oxnard Police remind parents and all residents of the danger that replica firearms are a hazard to public safety when brandished or used in a threatening manner.
Consequently, as in this case, it can deplete our immediate resources, and cost the city and our Department valuable time and resources, as well as our ability to respond to other incidents in the city. 

DATE / TIME PREPARED:  March 12, 2014, 6:30 pm

Jeri Williams Chief of Police

Oxnard Police Department R. Jason Benites Assistant Chief Scott Whitney Assistant Chief

OXNARD POLICE DEPARTMENT

NEWS RELEASE

DETAILS: On March 2, 2006, Oxnard resident Oscar Gonzalez was shot and killed in the area of San Benito Street and Trinity Place in the Lemonwood neighborhood of Oxnard. Gonzalez was shot and killed as he pursued vandals that he had interrupted damaging one of his family’s vehicles. The investigation into the murder revealed that the motivation behind the vandalism was gang related.

 
In response to a number of gang related homicides in the Lemonwood area, the Oxnard Police Department formed a special task force to investigate these gang homicides. During the investigation, Angel Romero was identified as the suspect in Gonzalez’ murder. On July 2, 2013, a Ventura County Grand Jury indicted Angel Romero for murder. Investigators learned that Romero had fled Oxnard and his whereabouts were unknown.
 
The investigation was turned over to Oxnard Police Department’s Cold Case Unit. With assistance from the United States Marshall’s office and the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office, Romero was located and arrested without incident in the Sacramento area. Romero will be extradited to Ventura County for prosecution. This investigation is the result of countless hours and a cooperative effort involving multiple local law enforcement agencies.