Oxnard teen arrested after chase, 1 nabbed in Simi robbery, more

The California Highway Patrol arrested a teen driving a stolen car late Thursday, following a lengthy pursuit from Los Angeles County that ended with a crash Oxnard, officials said.

The passenger, also a juvenile, was released to family, CHP Sgt. Kevin Iden said. Both the driver and passenger are 16-year-olds from Oxnard, he said.

The white, 2015 Lexus IS250 was reported stolen in Oxnard on Tuesday, Iden said. Deputies with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's spotted the vehicle around 11 p.m. near Compton, but it soon handed the chase over to CHP officers, Iden said.

The vehicle was heading north on Highway 101 when CHP officers laid a spike strip near Central Avenue. The car continued to the Del Norte Avenue offramp on flat tires, Iden said.

The driver pulled off the highway and crashed into a ditch around 11:46 p.m. No one was injured in the pursuit, Iden said.

A Simi Valley man was arrested Wednesday night after an armed robbery at a liquor store in Simi Valley, authorities said.

The 30-year-old man was taken into custody after being tackled and held by the store clerk, according to the Simi Valley Police Department.

The man allegedly passed a gun to a second suspect who fled the scene with approximately $830 in cash, cigarette packs and an 18-pack of Modelo beer, as well as the weapon, according to police Sgt. Duy Bui.

Police said they responded to the call Wednesday at 9:28 p.m. of an armed robbery with a gun at the store in the 2700 block of Tapo Canyon Road.

The man who had been tackled was booked into Ventura County Main Jail early Thursday on suspicion of felony second-degree robbery with bail at $200,000, jail records show. He was set to be in Ventura County Superior Court Friday afternoon.

Police said the second suspect was wearing a black and red hoodie, black pants and a black ski mask. He was armed with a golf club. Officers said they do not believe there “to be any specific or immediate threat to the public.”

Three women in their 20s from Los Angeles County were arrested Monday night after a pursuit from the Ojai Valley to Ventura that ended with authorities deploying a spike strip on the off-ramp at Victoria Avenue.

The Ventura County Sheriff's Office said deputies responded to a report at 9:42 p.m. of a person leaving a drug store in Mira Monte with several bags filled with goods that triggered the security system.

A witness spotted a woman leaving the store and entering a car with two other women. The witness followed the car and provided details to dispatchers about the vehicle, its license plate and direction of travel, sheriff's officials said.

The witness also gave information about items being tossed from the vehicle. Those items were later retrieved as evidence, authorities said.

Deputies caught up with the vehicle, and the chase continued onto Highway 101. The California Highway Patrol was notified and set up spike strips, which disabled the vehicle and stopped its progress.

The three women fled from the vehicle on foot and were later found and arrested. They were booked into Ventura County jail on suspicion of organized retail theft, conspiracy and resisting arrest, sheriff's officials said. The driver is also facing a charge of evading.

Sheriff's investigators also found $6,000 worth of stolen merchandise from the suspects' vehicle and said the women and their vehicle was tied to thefts at drug stores in Thousand Oaks, Camarillo and Los Angeles.

The women have since been released from jail. They are slated to appear in Ventura County Superior Court Aug. 14, jail records show.