Month: September 2025

Christer Schmidt

GOLETA, Calif. (KEYT) – Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s deputies arrested three suspects Friday in connection with a retail theft at Ulta Beauty in the Camino Real Marketplace in Goleta. Deputies said they recovered nearly $2,000 worth of stolen designer fragrances.

Deputies reported receiving a call around 2:12 p.m. Friday about suspects fleeing the store with stolen cologne and perfume in a red sedan headed toward Highway 101 southbound. Shortly after, deputies spotted the vehicle on the freeway and conducted a traffic stop near the Castillo Street off-ramp in Santa Barbara.

As deputies approached the car, they said they were met with an overwhelming scent of cologne coming from inside the vehicle. During the search, they recovered approximately $1,900 worth of merchandise, linking the three occupants to the theft, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

All three suspects were taken into custody without incident and booked on suspicion of felony organized retail theft.

Rigoberto Aguirre Andrade, 33, of Santa Clara, is also being held on two out-of-county warrants for theft-related crimes. His bail was set at $325,000.

Miguel Tinoco Hernandez, 32, of Santa Barbara, faces an additional misdemeanor charge of providing false information to an officer. His bail was set at $200,000.

Jose Encarnacion Reyes, 37, of San Jose, was booked on a misdemeanor charge of providing false information to an officer, as well as three out-of-county theft-related warrants. His bail was set at $310,000.The Latest Breaking News, Weather Alerts, Sports and More Anytime On Our Mobile Apps. Keep Up With the Latest Articles by Signing Up for the News Channel 3-12 Newsletter.

Click here to follow the original article.

Christer Schmidt

OXNARD, Calif. (KEYT) – A jury on Friday convicted 34-year-old Margarita Jimenez of Oxnard and 39-year-old Jorge Garfias of the first-degree murder of Yanelly Vargas.

According to the Ventura County Star, the jury reached its verdict after six hours of deliberation.

Jurors also found true the special allegation that Jimenez personally and intentionally discharged a firearm. The couple, however, was found not guilty of kidnapping Vargas.

A court trial on additional special allegations and aggravating factors is scheduled for Monday, Sept. 8, 2025.

According to the Oxnard Police Department, just before midnight on March 17, 2024, officers responded to reports of a fight between a man and a woman outside a business near East Wooley Road and Industrial Avenue. During the 911 call, a gunshot was heard.

When officers arrived, they found 30-year-old Vargas unresponsive with a gunshot wound. She was transported to Ventura County Medical Center, where she later died.

Investigators said Vargas had been lured outside an Oxnard bar by a text message sent by her ex-boyfriend, Garfias. They allege Garfias and Jimenez then took Vargas to a nearby industrial alley and began beating her.

As Vargas tried to walk away, investigators said the couple followed in Garfias’ truck. Surveillance footage captured Jimenez exiting the truck with a handgun and running after Vargas.

According to investigators, Jimenez shot Vargas once in the chest and attempted to fire a second time before fleeing with Garfias in the truck.

At the scene, detectives recovered a blood trail, a spent 9mm casing, and acrylic nails later matched to Jimenez. A blood-stained yellow rope was also found near the victim.

An autopsy confirmed Vargas died from a gunshot wound to the chest and had also suffered blunt force injuries and signs of strangulation.

Jimenez and Garfias remain in custody.

Click here to follow the original article.

Christer Schmidt

VENTURA, Calif. (KEYT) – After a seven-day preliminary hearing, a Ventura County Superior Court judge has ordered 39-year-old Rotherie Durrell Foster of Camarillo to stand trial on 35 felony counts, including the murders of Jose Velasquez and Bill Levy, a violent armed robbery in Fillmore, and a series of financial fraud crimes.

The court also held Foster to answer on six special circumstances and all special allegations alleged by prosecutors, including murder for financial gain, personal and intentional discharge of a firearm, and murder by poison.

Prosecutors allege Foster murdered Velasquez in 2022, stole his van and financial information, and later disposed of his body in the Santa Monica Mountains. That same year, Foster is accused of murdering Levy through intentional fentanyl poisoning. While committing Levy’s murder, prosecutors say Foster also stole Levy’s phone, bank card, and credit cards in order to drain his bank accounts.

Foster is further charged in connection with an armed robbery at La Unica Mini Mart in Fillmore in July 2022. Prosecutors allege employees were held at gunpoint, bound with duct tape, and robbed of thousands of dollars in cash.

In addition, Foster faces multiple charges of financial fraud targeting vulnerable and elderly victims.

Senior Deputy District Attorney Amber Lee, a member of the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office Major Crimes Homicide Unit, is prosecuting the case.

Foster is scheduled to be arraigned on the information on Oct. 2, 2025, at 9:00 a.m. in courtroom 12 of the Ventura County Superior Court. He remains in custody with no bail.

Click here to follow the original article.