Roundup: 3 Ventura men face federal prison, driver in Simi crash named, more news
Here's a roundup of recent incidents and announcements from Ventura County agencies:
Driver named in fatal Highway 118 crash
Authorities have named the man killed in a fiery accident on Highway 118 in Simi Valley last weekend.
David Ayala Jr., 48, was a Simi Valley resident, according to the Ventura County Medical Examiner’s Office. Cause of death was thermal injuries and smoke inhalation, the medical examiner found.
Ayala had been driving a Dodge Durango SUV westbound on the 118 near Sycamore Drive shortly before 2:30 a.m. on Saturday, the California Highway Patrol reported. For unknown reasons, he allowed the vehicle to veer onto the right shoulder, where it hit a metal and wood guardrail.
The SUV overturned and caught fire, authorities said. Arriving firefighters found it fully engulfed in flames.
The CHP’s Moorpark-area office is investigating. Anyone with information about the accident is asked to call 805-553-0800.
3 Ventura men face federal prison
Three Ventura men face the potential of lengthy federal prison sentences after pleading guilty to bank fraud, extortion, robbery and identity theft crimes, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced this week.
Officials said defendant Oscar Aguirre Silva, 30, pleaded guilty Thursday to 10 felonies in connection with extortion of a taco truck vendor, robbery of two small businesses and fraudulent use of debit and credit cards from a person he robbed at gunpoint.
Silva committed the offenses during a crime spree late last year, officials said in a news release. He pleaded guilty in federal court in Los Angeles to three counts of bank fraud, two counts of attempted bank fraud, two counts of aggravated identity theft, two counts of interference with commerce by robbery and one count of interference with commerce by extortion.
Also pleading guilty Thursday was 28-year-old Edward Donaldo Ramirez Martinez, whom officials described as Silva’s accomplice. He admitted guilt for one count of aggravated identity theft and one count of being a felon in possession of ammunition.
Both men are scheduled to be sentenced Aug. 8.
Another Ventura man, 30-year-old David Rey Reyes, was named as a co-defendant.
He pleaded guilty on March 6 to single counts of attempted bank fraud and bank fraud, along with two counts of aggravated identity theft. He is due to be sentenced May 29.
Silva faces maximum sentences lasting decades and Ramirez up to 12 years. Reyes faces up to 30 years for each bank fraud count and a mandatory two-year sentence for each aggravated identity theft count.
All three men remain in federal custody.
The Ventura County Violent Crime Task Force conducted the investigation. The law enforcement group includes the FBI, the Oxnard Police Department, the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office and the Ventura Police Department.
Toppled forklift spills fluid at harbor
A forklift tipped over on its side on a concrete ramp at the Channel Islands Harbor in Oxnard Monday, spilling hydraulic fluid in the water.
The Ventura County Harbor Patrol responded to the toppled telescopic forklift around 11:15 a.m., according to Jed Chernabaeff, spokesperson for the harbor.
Bellingham Marine was replacing docks in the area when the forklift tipped over, he said.
It hasn’t been determined why the forklift fell, Chernabaeff said.
Patrol officials deployed a pollution boom, oil-absorbent pads and an absorbent similar to kitty litter to contain the hydraulic fluid.
No injuries were reported, he said. Two cranes helped lift the forklift back on its tires around 3:30 p.m.
Items may be updated.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Roundup: 3 Ventura men face federal prison, driver in Simi crash ID'd
