Latest news with #VenturaCountyDistrictAttorney'sOffice
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Yahoo
Santa Paula man charged in slaying of Ojai woman, 2023 death of Ventura man
A Santa Paula man was charged with two counts of murder on June 6 in the recent killing of an Ojai-area woman as well as the death of a Ventura man in 2023. The Ventura County District Attorney's Office announced that Christian Alexandre Hillairet, 24, had been charged in Ventura County Superior Court with two counts of felony willful, deliberate and premediated murder, according to a DA's office news release. He has not yet entered a plea. Hillairet is also accused of numerous special allegations, including commission of more than one murder, use of a deadly weapon and a prior strike. Such allegations can carry additional jail time if he is found guilty. Hillairet is accused of killing Carolyn Nino De Rivera, 26, and William Thompson, 44. Nino De Rivera's body was found in a home in the 12000 block of Sisar Road in the unincorporated area of Santa Paula, also known as the Upper Ojai area, on May 31, authorities previously said. The home was leased by Hillairet and the two were in an "on-again-off-again" relationship, said Ventura County Sheriff's Capt. Rob Yoos. Ventura Police Department and sheriff's investigators said they found evidence tying Hillairet to the Ventura man's killing. Thompson was found bludgeoned to death in Ventura on Nov. 3, 2023, according to the DA's office news release. 'The defendant's alleged actions reflect a chilling pattern of violence and cruelty,' DA Erik Nasarenko said in the release. 'Our office is committed to securing justice for these victims and prosecuting Hillairet to the fullest extent of the law.' Hillairet was arrested by the Ventura County Sheriff's Office with the help of federal and Mexican authorities in Rosarito, Baja California, on June 4. Investigators earlier had learned that Hillairet had crossed the border into Mexico through the San Ysidro border crossing early June 1. He was booked into Ventura County Main Jail on June 5 without the possibility of bail, court and jail records show. He is scheduled to return to court June 9. Senior Deputy District Attorney Theresa Pollara with the DA's Major Crimes Homicide Unit is prosecuting the case. Ernesto Centeno Araujo covers breaking news for the Ventura County Star. He can be reached at ecentenoaraujo@ This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Santa Paula man charged in killings of Ojai woman, Ventura man
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Yahoo
Teens admit to bomb threat that locked down Ventura High School
A pair of California teenagers accused of calling in a bomb threat that forced the lockdown of roughly 2,000 students at Ventura High School last month have admitted to their involvement in separate hearings, officials announced Thursday. On Wednesday, one of the minors agreed to three felony charges, including malicious informing of a false bomb, conspiracy to commit a malicious informing of a false bomb, and criminal threats, the Ventura County District Attorney's Office announced in a news release. 'Ventura County Superior Court Judge Kevin DeNoce sentenced the minor to wardship under Welfare and Institutions Code section 602, the most serious level of juvenile probation,' the news release stated. The second minor, who is from Santa Barbara County, admitted to two felony charges, including malicious informing of a false bomb and conspiracy to commit a malicious informing of a false bomb during a May 21 hearing. That teen is scheduled to appear for an interim hearing on June 10 at the Santa Maria Juvenile Courthouse, as required by law, the news release states. Sentencing in the case is scheduled for June 17. The charges stem from the minors' involvement in a May 2 incident in which school officials received a threatening phone call claiming that someone was on campus with a bomb and intended to commit a shooting. The campus was immediately placed on lockdown as law enforcement was called to secure the campus and investigate. 'These threats placed the entire Ventura High School campus on lockdown, and caused students, teachers, and the surrounding community to be in fear,' Juvenile Unit Supervisor Maureen Byrne said. 'The juveniles who committed the false bomb threat and school shooting threat have been held accountable for their criminal conduct.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Miami Herald
27-05-2025
- Miami Herald
Man died after car plunged off road on Christmas, CA officials say. Driver sentenced
An accused drunk driver plunged down an embankment after leaving a family Christmas celebration in 2022, killing his 23-year-old passenger, California prosecutors said. Now, more than two years later, Michael Gordon Butler, 40, has been sentenced to four years in state prison in the death of Coldren James Lee Udell Kiblinger, the Ventura County District Attorney's Office said in a May 23 news release. An attorney for Butler did not immediately respond to McClatchy News' request for comment on May 27. 'This was a preventable tragedy,' Deputy District Attorney Jillian Ewan said in the release. 'Coldren Kiblinger's life was tragically cut down by Butler's grossly negligent decisions on December 25, 2022.' Christmas crash California Highway Patrol officers got a 911 call the evening of Dec. 25, 2022, about a Corvette that had plunged '200 feet down an embankment' after leaving the Simi Valley roadway, prosecutors said. Butler left a family Christmas celebration at about 6 p.m. in his recently purchased car with Kiblinger seated in the passenger seat, prosecutors said. When the two didn't return, the family became worried and 'used location-tracking apps' to look for them, prosecutors said. Family members found the crash site and called 911, prosecutors said. CHP investigators determined that at the time of the crash 'Butler had been driving at a high rate of speed while impaired, lost control of the vehicle, and struck trees and the hillside,' killing Kiblinger, prosecutor said. 'An angel on this earth' Loved ones remembered Kiblinger as 'a genius' who 'enjoyed working on cars, dancing, rapping, building random things around the house, hanging with friends, going to the beach with your dog star, you loved art, watching the sunset and the sunrise,' his obituary says. Kiblinger turned 23 just four days before he died, according to his obituary. He had planned to propose to his girlfriend in the coming year, the Ventura Police Department said in a May 2024 news release announcing a DUI checkpoint dedicated to Kiblinger. 'You left in the most gut wrenching way and will forever live in our hearts and our minds always and forever,' his obituary says. 'You were an angel on this earth long before you became one in heaven.' Guilty plea In April 2024, Kiblinger's mother, Loren Kiblinger, spoke in court about a potential four-year prison sentence for Butler, a close family friend at the time of the crash, saying it 'does not, and will never equate, to the lifetime Cole will be missed and the lifetime that Cole will now be missing,' the Simi Valley Acorn reported. Kiblinger's younger brother also spoke in court, according to the newspaper. 'We are taught from a very young age the dangers of getting into the car while impaired,' Kaden Kiblinger reportedly said. 'This is no accident.' A year later, Butler pleaded guilty 'to one felony count of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated,' prosecutors said. He also admitted to special allegations of a serious felony and that 'the crime involved great violence,' according to prosecutors. 'While no amount of time will bring Coldren back, I hope the guilty plea will give some sense of justice and closure for the hardship Coldren's family and friends have endured,' Ewan said. Simi Valley is about a 40-mile drive northwest from Los Angeles.
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Yahoo
Thousand Oaks man avoids carjacking attempt while kids were in vehicle, more news
A man in Thousand Oaks reportedly escaped a carjacking attempt while his two young children were in the vehicle on April 29, authorities said. The incident was reported shortly after 3:10 p.m. in the 2000 block of Moss Court, according to Ventura County Sheriff's Capt. Rob Davidson. The block is in a residential area on the north side of Avenida De Las Flores, east of Highway 23. The victim told deputies he was approached by three or four male suspects as he got out of his vehicle and was going to the mailbox. The suspects reportedly demanded the car, which had the victim's children inside, Davidson said. The victim pleaded with them not to take the vehicle. The suspects then allegedly robbed the man of his wallet and fled, the captain said. As of the morning of April 30, the suspects had not been apprehended, a sheriff's official said. A jury found an Oxnard man guilty of multiple counts of child molestation in a case involving two victims, authorities said. John Edward Kalil, 28, was convicted of six felony counts of lewd act upon a child on April 28, according to the Ventura County District Attorney's Office. Jurors also found true special allegations that there were multiple victims and there had been substantial sexual contact. The special allegations can bring a heavier sentence. Kalil molested two victims who were younger than 14 between 2014 and 2020, the DA's office said in a news release. The incidents took place in the home they shared, where Kalil had gained access through a familial relationship. Both victims reported the abuse after the arrests of another family member who was also allegedly molesting them, according to prosecutors. The case against the other family member is pending. "While I respect the jury process, my client maintains his innocence, and there will be an appeal," said Kalil's attorney, Encino-based Gregory Rubel, in a text message. Senior Deputy DA Stuart Gardner prosecuted the case. Sentencing is scheduled for the morning of June 6 in room 26 of Ventura County Superior Court. Kalil, who remains in custody without bail in the county's main jail, faces 150 years to life in state prison, prosecutors said. This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Thousand Oaks man avoids carjacking while kids were in car, more news
CBS News
22-04-2025
- CBS News
Fishing boat captain fined for dumping toxic waste into ocean off Ventura County coast
A commercial fishing boat captain was fined nearly $17,000 by the Ventura County District Attorney's Office for allegedly dumping toxic waste into waters along the California coast. They say that William Porter McHenry, who owns and operates McHenry Fisheries, Inc. and runs the 67-foot commercial fishing vessel Sea Pearl, allowed waste known as "stick water" to be dumped into the ocean on Dec. 6, 2024. "This waste can pollute the water and harm marine life," said a press release from the DA's office. "Authorities saw the Sea Pearl heading out to sea while releasing stick water, then turning back toward shore without crossing the state waters boundary line." Prosecutors described stick water as a byproduct of squid fishing. It's produced after squid are caught using seine nets and placed in the ship's fish hold, where they're stored in salt water. As the squid die, they release ink that contains high levels of ammonia, which turns the water dark and toxic and creates a harmful substance. "After the squid are offloaded onshore, the stick water and any leftover wastewater from the offloading process are stored in the vessel's hull," the release said. "Proper disposal requires it to be released at least three nautical miles offshore." Investigators with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife found that the Sea Pearl offloaded nearly 206,300 pounds of market squid at the Ventura Harbor before they received the stick water back from onshore tanks operated by Silver Bay Seafoods, the release noted. CDFW officers watched the vessel as it traveled past the Ventura Harbor break wall and allegedly dumped the stick water before turning back towards shore. "A CDFW warden boarded the Sea Pearl to inspect the vessel's fish holds and commercial fishing licenses. The inspection revealed that three of the four fish holds were completely empty, with only a small amount of stick water remaining in the fourth hold," the DA's office release said. "When asked to provide the vessel's most recent navigation track logs, McHenry complied, and the data confirmed that the Sea Pearl had never made it beyond the state waters border." McHenry was ordered to pay $8,444.69 for environmental restoration to the Ventura County Fish and Wildlife Fund and CDFW. He was also told to pay $6,555.31 in penalties and investigation costs to the DA's office, plus an additional $1,889.39 for unfair business practices.
