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Michael Cantero Juan Castillo Esteban Oseguera |
VCSD: Three SP men arrested for
suspicion of vehicle theft ring crimes
December 24, 2014
By Peggy Kelly
Santa Paula News
Three Santa Paula gang members were arrested this month in connection with hundreds of thefts from and of vehicles in Ventura, Santa Barbara and Los Angeles counties.
Two of the men, according to newspaper records, were arrested together seven years ago for the same crime.
According to the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department, investigators from its Special Crimes unit “had intelligence that Juan Castillo, Michael Cantero and Esteban Oseguera were involved in a countywide theft ring.”
Cantero, 30, was on parole for attempted residential burglary and had recently bailed out of jail for a narcotic related arrest. Castillo, 34, and Oseguera, 25, had been arrested for similar crimes on November 13; both were out on bail pending trial.
According to newspaper reports, Cantero and Castillo had been arrested together in 2007 by the VCSD on suspicion of thefts from vehicles in the Camarillo area. Oseguera also has a criminal record.
The latest incident according to VCSD Sergeant Bill Schierman occurred December 8, at about 5 a.m. when a uniformed VCSD Deputy attempted to stop a stolen vehicle in Ventura.
“The vehicle was occupied by two males and had been reported stolen the previous day in Santa Barbara County,” and during the stop the male passenger jumped out ran and avoided capture.
The driver was Oseguera, who was arrested.
Schierman said “Deputies searched the car and found numerous items that had been stolen earlier in the morning from unlocked vehicles in the City of Camarillo.”
Oseguera was arrested for suspicion of auto theft and possession of stolen property; he was booked into Ventura County Jail.
On December 17 about 5 a.m., VCSD Investigators stopped Castillo and Cantero as they left the Spanish Hills neighborhood of Camarillo. Investigators, said Schierman, searched the car and found several items, “including a handgun, that had been stolen from various unlocked vehicles in Spanish Hills.”
Investigators also recovered stolen property from reported vehicle thefts that occurred in Ojai, Ventura and Los Angeles that had been reported over the previous several months.
Cantero and Castillo were arrested for various property and weapons related charges; both remain in custody on $500,000 bail. Cantero was on parole for attempted residential burglary and had recently bailed out of jail for a narcotics-related arrest.
Based on the recovered stolen property and suspect statements, VCSD investigators believe the trio is responsible for hundreds of vehicle thefts and stolen vehicles over the last six months.
The Ventura County Sheriff’s Office issued a statement to remind residents to lock their vehicles at night and remove all valuables to prevent crimes of opportunity.
