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News Story: Narcotics Arrest Related to Overdose
| Nature of Incident: | Narcotics Arrest Related to Overdose | ||||
| Report Number: | 22-99165 | ||||
| Location: | 400 block of South Ventura Road- Oxnard, CA | ||||
| Date & Time: | September 23, 2022- 1325 Hours | ||||
| Unit(s) Responsible: | Ventura County Interagency Pharmaceutical Crimes Unit (PCU) Ventura County Sheriff’s Narcotics Street Team (NST) Camarillo Patrol Station |
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| (S)uspects, (V)ictims, (P)arty, (D)ecedent |
City of Residence |
Age | |||
| (S) Steven Viramontes |
Oxnard |
23 | |||
| Narrative: | |||||
| On September 23, 2022, the Ventura County Sheriff’s Pharmaceutical Crimes Unit (PCU) concluded an investigation into Steven Viramontes reference his involvement in a non-fatal overdose from fentanyl sales utilizing social media. On July 26, 2022, Camarillo Patrol Station deputies responded to the 5200 block of Creekside Road in the City of Camarillo reference a subject who had overdosed on counterfeit pills containing fentanyl. PCU detectives began investigating the case and developed information that Steven Viramontes was responsible for selling the fentanyl pills. He was using various social media sites to advertise drugs for sale and to set up transactions with customers throughout Ventura County. On September 23, 2022, Narcotics Detectives set up surveillance of Viramontes in the area of 400 South Ventura Road in Oxnard. Detectives attempted to contact Viramontes for his involvement in the overdose, and he immediately fled on foot. After a brief foot chase, Viramontes was arrested. At the time of his arrest, he was in possession of 300 counterfeit pills containing fentanyl and US currency derived from drug sales. Viramontes was arrested for 11351 HS- Possession for Sales of a Controlled Substance, 11352 HS- Sales of a Controlled Substance and 148(a) PC- Resisting Arrest. Viramontes was booked into the Ventura County Jail and is currently in custody on $250,000 bail. His arraignment was set for September 27, 2022, in Ventura County Superior Court. The public may contact investigators from the Ventura County Interagency Pharmaceutical Crimes Unit at (805) 383-8700 or [email protected] with additional information about this case, or any other information related to narcotics. The Ventura County Pharmaceutical Crimes Unit is a task force made up of members from the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office and the Thousand Oaks Police Department; The primary mission of the task force is combatting the transfer of legal prescription medication and fentanyl to the illegal market. In addition, the task force works to identify and stop new trends of abuse among the younger population and investigates overdoses due to both prescription medication and illicit drug use. The Ventura County Sheriff’s Office is an active member of the County Opioid Abuse Suppression Taskforce (COAST). We have partnered with Ventura County Behavioral Health in a campaign to reduce overdoses and educate the public about the dangers of opioids and other drugs. Comprehensive information can be found at www.VenturaCountyResponds.org. |
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| Prepared by: | Sergeant John Hajducko |
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| News Release Date: | September 26, 2022 | ||||
| Media Follow-Up Contact: | Detective John Grunhold (805) 383-8700 |
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| Approved by: |
Captain Brian Slominski | ||||
Address/Location
Ventura County Sheriff's Office
800 S Victoria Ave
Ventura, CA 93003
Contact
Emergency: 9-1-1
Non-emergencies: 805-654-9511