Victim of Deer Creek crash named
Authorities have identified a man found dead at a crash site on Deer Creek Road on Dec. 7, nearly a week after a vehicle tumbled down an embankment in an incident that remains under investigation.
Jovanni Ponce, 22, was a resident of Oxnard, according to the Ventura County Medical Examiner’s Office. The cause and manner of death were pending Friday.
One person believed to have been in the Cadillac Escalade remained missing Friday, California Highway Patrol Officer Ryan Ayala said.
A property on Deer Creek Road, seen in 2023, shows mountainous terrain rising above the Pacific Coast Highway. One person believed to have been in a vehicle that tumbled down an embankment on December 1 is still missing.
The crash reportedly occurred around 2 a.m. on December 1, according to a passenger who survived and reported the incident more than 24 hours later, around noon on December 2. The Cadillac left the road about 2 miles above Pacific Coast Highway. Ventura County, where Deer Creek winds through rugged parts of the Santa Monica Mountains with sharp turns and steep drop-offs.
The vehicle ended up approximately 300 meters below the dike.
Authorities searched the area for two days looking for two other men believed to be in the Cadillac. The effort included dogs and a Ventura County helicopter equipped with a thermal camera. The searches turned up nothing.
On December 6, a missing persons report filed by Ponce’s family led to another search the next day, when his body was found by members of the search and rescue team in an area covered with thick foliage.
A GoFundMe campaign seeking to raise $3,000 for Ponce’s memorial costs had raised more than $750 on Saturday. The page described Ponce as an extraordinary person who was “funny, kind, hardworking and full of life.” According to the post, he had recently celebrated his 22nd birthday.
As of Friday, no one had filed a missing person report for the third man, Ayala said.
Anyone with information is asked to call Detective Ryan Tucker at the CHP’s Ventura office at 805-662-2640.
Suspected burglar breaks into Simi homes
A man suspected of unlawfully entering two Simi Valley homes Thursday evening was captured in the backyard of a third home during a police investigation, authorities said.
Simi Valley Police received a call around 7:15 p.m. from a resident in the 2200 block of Rolling River Lane reporting that a stranger had entered her home and walked upstairs. The resident confronted the man, who then left the home, the department said in a news release. The avenue cuts through a townhouse complex north of Eileen Street, on the west side of Tapo Street.
According to police, the front door of the home was unlocked. No property was reported missing.
Around 11 p.m., police received a second call reporting a similar incident at a nearby home in the 4100 block of Eileen Street, where a man reportedly entered an unlocked garage and office space. The suspect fled when confronted. No items were reported missing, officials said.
Police officers set up a perimeter in the area as they searched for the suspect, deploying a drone to assist in the effort.
They found the man, a 39-year-old Simi Valley resident, in the backyard of a home in the 4200 block of Helene Street, about three blocks south of the earlier incident, just after midnight, said Sgt. Duy Bui.
The possible motive for the incidents was unclear, Bui said.
The man was arrested on suspicion of burglary and resisting trespassing. He remained in the Todd Road Jail outside Santa Paula on Saturday, where he was ineligible for bail due to a parole violation, jail records show.
3 arrested after series of thefts
Three out-of-county suspects were arrested for their alleged involvement in a series of property and vehicle thefts in Camarillo, Simi Valley and Chatsworth, authorities said.
The three Los Angeles men, ages 26, 29 and 37, allegedly stole nearly $40,000 worth of property from at least three homes in Ventura County during incidents dating back to May, Ventura County Sheriff’s Detective Kenneth Ledesma said .
More recently, on December 1, Camarillo officers responded to a call in the 5100 block of Mesquite Street, where the homeowner said the garage had been broken into overnight. Electric bicycles, tools and a generator were taken, according to a news release from the sheriff’s office, which is contracted to provide police services in Camarillo.
Detectives used home security camera footage to identify the suspect vehicle: a dark Nissan Xterra with one of the stolen e-bikes on the roof rack.
On Tuesday, sheriff’s detectives found the Nissan Xterra parked in a Granada Hills neighborhood where they were conducting surveillance on the three suspects. A caravan was parked behind the Nissan. Detectives reportedly observed all three suspects going in and out of the trailer, carrying possibly stolen items, the sheriff’s report said. One suspect was seen riding away on a stolen bicycle.
Authorities took all three men into custody and found additional stolen property from victims in Camarillo, Simi Valley and Chatsworth in the trailer.
The caravan, along with a cargo trailer found nearby, had been stolen from Simi Valley from two separate properties, Ledesma said.
The suspects have been arrested for various burglaries, vehicle theft and conspiracy crimes. The 37-year-old was determined to be a wanted parolee who was considered armed and dangerous, sheriff’s officials said. He remained housed at the county’s main jail Saturday and is not eligible for bail, jail records show.
Contributors contributed to this report.
Ernesto Centeno Araujo covers breaking news for the Ventura County Star. He can be reached at ecentenoaraujo@vcstar.com.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Roundup: Deer Creek Road crash victim ID’d, more news
