Roundup: Moorpark man admits he killed in-law, Port Hueneme water raises eyebrows
Here's a roundup of recent incidents and announcements from Ventura County agencies:
Man admits to killing brother-in-law
A 71-year-old Moorpark man pleaded guilty Tuesday to a second-degree murder charge in the 2020 shooting of his brother-in-law at a storage facility in Moorpark.
Elsworth Cadle entered the plea in Ventura County Superior Court during a hearing on the plea change, court records show.
A jury previously deadlocked on the murder charge in February. A retrial had been approved and was scheduled to start in September.
In Tuesday's plea, Cadle also admitted to the special allegation that he personally and intentionally discharged the firearm that killed Moorpark resident Mark Milton, 64, according to the Ventura County District Attorney's Office. Special allegations can increase sentences.
Milton had been found dead in the driver's seat of a rented U-Haul truck on the afternoon of Jan. 3, 2020, at Public Storage, 875 Los Angeles Ave., authorities said. Cadle was arrested that night after a search.
In 2019, before the incident, Cadle's estranged wife and daughter were living with his sister and brother-in-law, the DA's office said in a news release. The wife and daughter began moving into their own apartment by early January. They had rented the U-Haul to pick up belongings from Cadle's apartment and from the storage unit rented by Milton and his wife.
On the day of the shooting, Cadle drove by the storage unit and saw Milton. Cadle then rented a car, got his gun and returned to the facility. He shot Milton once in the left side of the head before fleeing, according to the DA's account.
Sentencing is scheduled for the morning of June 20 in courtroom 46. Cadle faces 25 years to life in prison, prosecutors said.
Port Hueneme says water is OK
Some Port Hueneme residents were recently rattled when they received a notice saying the city's water system had "failed to monitor" drinking water standards as required after a routine test for total coliform bacteria on March 4 came back positive. The mailing went out May 1.
On Tuesday, officials reassured residents with an update on social media saying additional testing supports what they have believed all along: that the initial test was a false positive.
City Manager James Vega said Tuesday the first notice required standardized language that makes it hard to be clear about what happened.
After the initial positive test, a subsequent test on March 5 came back negative, he said, as have multiple tests since.
The subsequent test required specific processes, he said, but the city didn't follow the "exact" process.
"We just didn't check the box," Vega said.
Items may be updated.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Roundup: Moorpark man admits he killed in-law, more news
