Countywide : ‘Ax Murderer’ Tops Slow Fright Night

A costumed man was mistaken for an ax murderer in Oxnard and a group of shaving cream terrorists plagued Thousand Oaks during an unusually quiet fright night Wednesday, Ventura County police authorities said.

“We’ve gotten lots of calls about juveniles hanging out, but that’s about it,” said Senior Deputy E.J. Rogers of the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department three hours before midnight. “Of course, the night isn’t over yet and the moon’s not quite up.”

In Simi Valley, a teen-age assailant with a sweet tooth confronted a young trick-or-treater near Sequoia Park and made off with the child’s candy. Aside from the bully’s theft, Simi Police Lt. Don Austin said there were few incidents of malicious mischief.

“When Halloween falls in the middle of the week, we don’t see the number of pranks as when it falls on a weekend,” Austin said.

The case of the mistaken ax murderer involved a man who showed up at his former girlfriend’s front door with an ax raised over his head, said Oxnard Police Lt. Tom Kady. “She wasn’t home and the people there didn’t recognize him,” Kady said.