The Ventura County Fire Department rescued 18 people at the Conejo Creek Park in Thousand Oaks on Sunday, after they were trapped on an amusement park ride. The “Conejo Valley Days” ride had reportedly broken down. Firefighters successfully rescued all riders by manually lowering the ride. First responders were called at 8:05 p.m. by a parent whose kid was stuck on the ride. The VCFD first received was able to free all the riders by 8:35 p.m. No injuries were reported and the ride has since been shut down ..read more

A Woodland Hills man was sentenced Thursday for assaulting multiple sleeping women and hikers in Thousand Oaks and Oak Park. Edgar Ruelas, 42, was convicted of five felony counts after he attacked five women between June 2017 and March 2020. Three of the victims were hiking when Ruelas assaulted them, wearing all black, gloves and a ski mask. The other two victims were sleeping when Ruelas entered their home through unlocked doors. Detectives with the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office East County Sexual Assault Unit were able to arrest Ruelas after identifying his vehicle during an attempt to fl ..read more

A judge decided Wednesday that a Southern California college professor will stand trial for involuntary manslaughter and battery in the death of a Jewish counter-protester during demonstrations over the Israel-Hamas war last year. Superior Court Judge Ryan Wright judge declared after a two-day preliminary hearing that there’s enough evidence to try Loay Abdelfattah Alnaji, according to the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office. Alnaji, 51, is accused of striking Paul Kessler with a megaphone in November during a confrontation at an event that started as a pro-Palestinia ..read more

The Newbury Park community is coming together to help students of the Newbury Park Adventist Academy after their band instruments were stolen last weekend. The school’s band was in San Diego last week for a performance when more than 30 instruments were stolen from their equipment truck outside of their hotel. Many of the instruments were privately owned by the students while others were rented or owned by the school.  According to the school, people from the community have already offered to loan them replacement instruments.  “My email inbox has presented me with people we don’t kn ..read more

The driver of a box truck who attempted to stop another box truck driver during a wild pursuit in Los Angeles earlier this week said he unknowingly joined the chase and was just trying to stop the man who struck his vehicle. Roy Perdomo was driving a box truck on Wednesday in Thousand Oaks when he was suddenly rear-ended by another box truck that was trying to evade officers. “He hit me first,” Perdomo said. “He broke my right mirror, right fender and he pulled the front.” The victim admits he was upset the other driver struck him and fled. Determined to make him stop or at least document the ..read more

More than 100 students, parents, alumni and faculty attended a meeting Thursday after an all-girls middle and high school in Thousand Oaks announced it is closing at the end of the school year. La Reina Middle and High School, a top-ranked Catholic school with a 100% college acceptance rate, announced it will close in June due to finances. The school cited inflation, the need for tuition assistance and diminished reserves as reasons for its impending closure. “For several years, our school leadership and community have worked to address challenging financial headwinds largely caused by signifi ..read more

A woman who stabbed a man more than 100 times before she turned the knife on herself during what was described as a “marijuana-induced psychotic state” will not serve any prison time, a judge ruled Tuesday. Bryn Spejcher, a Thousand Oaks resident, has been ordered to serve 100 hours of community service and two years of probation for the deadly stabbing of Chad O’Melia. Spejcher, during a state of psychosis triggered by marijuana, stabbed O’Melia more than 100 times on May 27, 2018, after they smoked the drug together. “She inhaled, and then from that point on, she went into a psychotic state ..read more

After the football games ended, leftovers were put away and the dishes were done, residents in a Thousand Oaks neighborhood were sleeping away the final hours of Thanksgiving with no idea car thieves were starting early on Black Friday. Residents in the community northwest of Los Angeles reported a string of burglaries. “Any car that was open on the street, they got into it and they were able to take anything they wanted,” resident Alisa Bertram said.  Including, in Bertram’s case, the car itself.  “I just started yelling to my husband, ‘Where is the car? Where is the car?’” Bertram ..read more

A man has been arrested in the death of a 69-year-old Jewish man who suffered fatal injuries at dueling pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian rallies in Thousand Oaks. Loay Alnaji, 50, of Moorpark, was arrested Thursday at his home on suspicion of involuntary manslaughter in the death of Paul Kessler. Alnaji’s bail will be set at $1 million, according to the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department. Details about what led to the arrest were not immediately available. In a news release announcing the arrest, the sheriff’s department did not provide details about the altercation between Kessler and Alnaji ..read more

A man has been arrested in the death of a 69-year-old Jewish man who suffered fatal injuries at dueling pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian rallies in Thousand Oaks. Loay Alnaji, 50, of Moorpark, was arrested Thursday at his home on suspicion of involuntary manslaughter in the death of Paul Kessler. Alnaji’s bail will be set at $1 million, according to the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department. Details about what led to the arrest were not immediately available. In a news release announcing the arrest, the sheriff’s department did not provide details about the altercation between Kessler and Alnaji ..read more