SIMI VALLEY (CBSLA) – Investigators are looking for a driver who brandished a gun during an apparent road rage incident in Simi Valley Thursday night. A cell phone photo of the suspect’s car. March 10, 2022. (Simi Valley PD) The incident occurred at about 6 p.m. The victim told Simi Valley police that his he was being tailgated by the suspect as he exited the 118 Freeway at Tapo Canyon. The suspect then followed him onto Alamo Street, and then Fairbacks Avenue. On Fairbanks, the suspect pulled up alongside and pulled out a gun, the victim told police. When the victim pulled his car over, the ..read more

SIMI VALLEY (CBSLA) — Detectives uncovered an alleged organized retail theft ring behind dozens of heists from Home Depot stores throughout Southern California, Simi Valley police announced Thursday. Two people were arrested Tuesday in connection with a series of thefts at Home Depot stores across Southern California – 29-year-old Luis Delasancha of Anaheim and 45-year-old Prudencio Avelar-Lemus of Santa Ana, the alleged fence, both face charges of conspiracy, organized retail theft, and grand theft. (credit: Simi Valley Police Department) Simi Valley police say an investigation that started ..read more

SIMI VALLEY (CBSLA) — A man who was burned in an early-morning explosion has been arrested on suspicion of manufacturing honey oil in his Simi Valley apartment. An explosion was reported at about 4:14 a.m. Tuesday at an apartment in the 1800 block of Bishop Lane, according to Simi Valley police. Officers who arrived first on the scene found the windows blown out of a downstairs apartment unit. Surveillance video from the complex showed the dark apartment suddenly exploding into, sending debris into nearby grass and sidewalks. On 2/15/22, at approximately 0414 hours, SVPD officers and VCFD res ..read more

SIMI VALLEY (CBSLA) — A Canoga Park man is scheduled to appear in court Tuesday on charges he fired at another driver in an apparent road rage incident. Javier Castaneda, 45, was arrested last Friday after the 7 a.m. shooting on the westbound 118 Freeway at Rocky Peak Road. According to the California Highway Patrol, Castaneda fired a single gunshot from his black Toyota Camry at a 43-year-old man who had just exited the freeway at Rocky Peak Road in a gray Ford Escape. When the Escape’s driver heard his window shatter from the gunshot, he got back on the freeway and followed Castaneda’s vehic ..read more

MOORPARK (CBSLA) — A pair of San Fernando Valley brothers have been arrested in connection with a string of thefts from Kohl’s department stores throughout Ventura County. Vardan Gevorgyan, 30, of North Hollywood, and Raphael Gevorgyan, 37, of Van Nuys, were arrested last Friday at an apartment complex in Pacoima, where one of them had been staying, following an investigation into an organized retail theft spree, according to the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office. The investigation into the Gevorgyans began with a Nov. 16, 2021 heist at a Kohl’s, 872 New Los Angeles Ave. in Moorpark. In that inc ..read more

SIMI VALLEY (CBSLA) — A house fire in Simi Valley has caused Ventura County Fire Department crews into a defensive posture, following a partial collapse of the roof. Firefighters battled the elements on Sunday, as both the massive blaze and high winds caused a series of steep challenges for crews on hand. #StructureFire Simi Valley Update : ⁦@VCFD⁩ 2nd alarm on scene and making good progress. Multiple hose lines deployed to protect neighboring homes. pic.twitter.com/PiULInbvuu — VCFD PIO (@VCFD_PIO) January 10, 2022 Crews have deployed multiple hoses to protect homes in the surrounding ..read more

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — Tens of thousands of residents across the Southland were still without power Friday morning due to the powerful Santa Ana winds and red flag conditions. More than 75,000 Southern California Edison customers lost power at some point on Thanksgiving Day due to precautionary public safety shutoffs. By 6 a.m. Friday, it was down to 42,295 SCE customers without power. As of 11:30 a.m., a little over 24,000 were still without electricity, including 9,328 in Los Angeles County and 9,236 in Ventura County.  Some have had their power shut off for more than 24 hours. “Thankful ..read more

Aerial footage of the Simi Valley house fire on Friday, November 5. SIMI VALLEY (CBSLA) – Ventura County firefighters have reported to the scene of a two-story house fire on the 2140 block of Marter Avenue in Simi Valley. The fire was reportedly started following a domestic disturbance. The man who allegedly started the fire has been taken to a nearby hospital for injuries. Initial reports state that he doused the house in lighter fluid following the dispute. Authorities found him in the neighbor’s yard with a stab wound. Six occupants of the home were displaced by the fire, but all of ..read more

SIMI VALLEY (CBSLA) — The city of Simi Valley has adopted a residential watering schedule in response to the ongoing drought across California. Simi Valley has adopted a Level 2 Water Supply Shortage condition that calls for mandatory conservation actions. As of Nov. 1, residents will be limited to a two-day a week watering schedule, based on their street address. Residents whose street address end in even numbers can water on Sundays and Wednesdays, and street addresses that end in odd numbers can do so on Tuesdays and Saturdays. Gov. Gavin Newsom last month expanded a drought emergency decla ..read more

SIMI VALLEY (CBSLA) — The last Cold War-era building has finally come down in Simi Valley. The U.S. Department of Energy says it has completed the safe demolition of the last of its Energy Technology Engineering Center, which had been part of cleanup activities at the Santa Susana Field Laboratory. (credit: DOE) The last building to be demolished was the Sodium Pump Test Facility, a nine-story industrial building used for testing large pumps for liquid sodium, officials said. The building, which went down on Oct. 1, was built in 1972 and had a red-and-white crane structure on its roof that c ..read more