“Marvin Aguilar Mendoza, Oxnard Resident, Fatally Shot in Port Hueneme: Ventura County Update”

Accident – death – Obituary News : Recent Incidents and Announcements from Ventura County and Regional Agencies

Shooting Victim Identified:

Authorities have released the identity of the victim in a fatal shooting that took place in Port Hueneme on January 5th. The victim, Marvin Aguilar Mendoza, was a 25-year-old resident of Oxnard, according to the Ventura County Medical Examiner’s Office. The cause of death was determined to be a gunshot wound to the neck and chest, and the manner of death was ruled as homicide.

The shooting occurred around 11 p.m. on the 5th in the 2600 block of Yardarm Avenue, as reported by the Port Hueneme Police Department. An officer who happened to be in the area on an unrelated call heard the gunshot and quickly responded. Mendoza was found in the front yard of a residence, where police and emergency medical personnel provided aid before he was transported by ambulance to Ventura County Medical Center.

Chief Michael Federico stated that investigators believe Mendoza was shot on the west side of Yardarm Avenue and then crossed over to the east side of the street. The Marina Village neighborhood, where the incident took place, has alleys that run parallel to the streets, providing access to garages and utility areas behind the houses.

A trail of dried blood was still visible on a walkway near a laundry room in the alley, according to neighbors who spoke with a photographer from The Star. Federico mentioned that the victim appeared to have walked between the closely spaced buildings to reach the east side of the street before collapsing on a lawn outside a home. The home was unrelated to the victim or the shooting.

Both the medical examiner and the police confirmed that Mendoza was struck by a single round, even though the cause of death was attributed to neck and chest wounds. Chief Federico explained that a bullet can pass through the body after impact.

This recent homicide occurred near the location of a fatal shooting that took place on July 9th, where 18-year-old Pedro Gomez Jr. from Camarillo was shot near Anchor Avenue, one block west of Yardarm Avenue. The two streets share an alley, and a makeshift memorial for Gomez was present in the alley on the day of the January 5th incident. Chief Federico clarified that the two shootings are unrelated, and no arrests have been made in the Gomez shooting.

The January 5th shooting marked Ventura County’s second homicide of the new year, following the shooting of 34-year-old Jose Juares in his south Oxnard neighborhood on January 1st. Juares was shot while walking home from a nearby party, according to Oxnard police officials. No arrests have been made in that case either.

As of Friday, no suspects had been identified in the January 5th homicide in Port Hueneme. The case remains under active investigation, stated Chief Federico. Anyone with information is urged to contact Detective Sgt. Jesus Chavez at 805-986-6615.

Simi Police Assist in Dismantling Drug Operation:

The Simi Valley Police Department played a crucial role in dismantling a drug delivery service that had been under investigation since January 2019, according to a news release issued by the agency on Friday night.

Working in collaboration with the federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in Los Angeles, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and the IRS, the Simi Valley Police Department’s special investigative unit initiated the probe in Simi Valley.

Authorities allege that customers ordered drugs through text messages, and delivery drivers would transport narcotics to designated locations. The drug delivery service operated not only in Simi Valley but also in the San Fernando Valley and across state lines in Nevada, Utah, and New York, requiring a joint investigation involving multiple jurisdictions.

A federal indictment released by the U.S. Attorney in November outlined numerous Simi Valley deliveries, where a driver would bring cocaine to a confidential informant at a location near Tapo Canyon Road and Highway 118. Prosecutors also stated that the group distributed both cocaine and oxycodone pills laced with fentanyl. The indictment covers alleged crimes committed in Los Angeles and Ventura counties, and it includes one incident involving a fatal overdose.

Simi Valley police investigators eventually linked four fatal overdoses to this drug delivery service. The fatalities were a result of consuming counterfeit pills laced with fentanyl.

The head of the operation was identified as Erick Oved Estrada, a 35-year-old man from Calabasas who was arrested in November. Simi Valley officials stated that at least five alleged co-conspirators, including Estrada’s wife, were involved in the operation.

Estrada, along with three others, pleaded not guilty to all charges during their arraignment in federal court in Los Angeles in November. As of December, all parties had been arraigned and were awaiting trial, as confirmed by the Simi Valley Police Department.

According to federal prosecutors, Estrada and his wife laundered the proceeds through bank accounts of fraudulent businesses and used the money for personal expenses, including the purchase of a Lamborghini and a Land Rover. Estrada reportedly ran the drug operation from their Calabasas residence.

Estrada is facing charges of conspiracy, distribution of fentanyl resulting in death, money laundering, and other offenses. If convicted on all charges, he could face a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years in federal prison, with a maximum sentence of life imprisonment, according to prosecutors..