Community
Ventura County Crime Stoppers will pay up to $1,000 reward for information, which leads to the arrest and criminal complaint against the person(s) responsible for this crime. The caller may remain anonymous. The call is not recorded. Call Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS (8477).
Homicide Investigation
| Nature of Incident: | Homicide Investigation | ||||
| Report Number: | 24-138419 | ||||
| Location: | 900 Block of Warwick Avenue, Thousand Oaks, CA. | ||||
| Date & Time: | 11/01/2024 04:40 A.M. |
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| Unit(s) Responsible: | Sheriff’s Major Crimes Bureau, Thousand Oaks Patrol, Thousand Oaks Investigations, East County Major Crimes Unit, Thousand Oaks Special Enforcement Unit, Crime Scene Investigations Unit |
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| (S)uspects, (V)ictims, (P)arty, (D)ecedent |
City of Residence |
Age | |||
| (S) Thomas Buckley (V) Michael Patterson |
Thousand Oaks Thousand Oaks |
58 72 |
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| Narrative: | |||||
| On November 1, 2024, at approximately 4:40 A.M., deputies from the Thousand Oaks Police Station responded to a call for service at a long-term care facility, located in the 900 block of Warwick Avenue in Thousand Oaks. The call for service was regarding a resident who was agitated, had broken a window, and was possibly injured. The subject was also preventing the treatment center’s staff from approaching him. Upon arrival, deputies located and detained the agitated resident, who was identified as Thomas Buckley, in a common area of the facility. While deputies were addressing the situation with Buckley, the long-term care facility staff checked on Buckley’s roommate, Michael Patterson, who was in his assigned room. The facility’s staff noticed Patterson had severe injuries, apparently caused by an assault. Personnel from the Ventura County Fire Department and American Medical Response (AMR) responded to the scene and pronounced Patterson deceased. Ventura County Sheriff’s Office investigators arrived at the scene and assumed the subsequent investigation. The investigation also revealed that prior to the deputies arrival, Buckley had assaulted a facility staff member causing a minor injury to the staff member. The incident is currently under investigation as a homicide. An autopsy is pending, and the Ventura County Medical Examiner’s Office will determine the official cause and manner of death. Buckley was identified as the suspect in Patterson’s death and was arrested for a violation of PC 187(a) – Murder, PC 245(a)(1) – Assault with a Deadly Weapon, and PC 594 - Vandalism. Buckley was booked at the Pre-Trial Detention Facility in Ventura, CA. Buckley’s bail was set at $2,000,000 and his arraignment is currently scheduled for Tuesday, November 5th, at 1:30 PM in the Ventura County Superior Court. This is an active and ongoing homicide investigation. Anyone who has information regarding this incident is encouraged to contact Detective Gerardo Cruz at (805)384-4726 or Detective Erik Hernandez at (805)384-4729. |
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| Prepared by: | Sergeant Francisco Jauregui | ||||
| News Release Date: | 11/02/2024 | ||||
| Media Follow-Up Contact: | Sergeant Monica Smith (805) 654-2385 [email protected] |
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| Approved by: Booking Photo Release: |
Captain Victor Medina YES NO |
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Ventura County Crime Stoppers will pay up to $1,000 reward for information, which leads to the arrest and criminal complaint against the person(s) responsible for this crime. The caller may remain anonymous. The call is not recorded. Call Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS (8477).
Address/Location
Ventura County Sheriff's Office
800 S Victoria Ave
Ventura, CA 93003
Contact
Emergency: 9-1-1
Non-emergencies: 805-654-9511