THOUSAND OAKS : 8 Arrested on Drug Charges at 2 Motels

Ventura County sheriff’s deputies arrested eight people on drug charges early Tuesday at motels in Thousand Oaks and Camarillo, after an anonymous tipster called to report the suspects were allegedly using drugs.

Six people, two of them 16-year-old boys, were arrested on suspicion of being under the influence of methamphetamine, and two were arrested on suspicion of possession of methamphetamine for sale, Sgt. Mike De Los Santos said. All are residents of Thousand Oaks and Newbury Park.

“The amount (of drugs) seized was minimal, but the folks arrested were pretty young,” De Los Santos said. The drugs were “mainly for their own personal use and their friends’ use.”

Deputies were first called to a motel on Newbury Road after a tipster called to report that one of the suspects, Ben Warner, 20, who De Los Santos said is a gang member, was selling methamphetamine there. The drug is commonly known as speed.

Deputies did not find Warner, but kept the motel under surveillance. After 1 a.m., four suspects returned to the motel, and deputies arrested Venessa Vega, 20, on suspicion of possession of methamphetamine for sale. They also arrested Joseph Cruz, 26; Jeffrey Johnson, 18, and one of the 16-year-olds, all on suspicion of being under the influence.

Deputies then learned that Warner had gone to a motel on Daly Drive in Camarillo, where they arrested Warner; Angela Philpott, 18; Chad Diekmann, 20, and the other 16-year-old.

De Los Santos said the male suspects were booked into the East County Jail and the female suspects were booked into the Ventura County Jail in Ventura. The boys were booked into Juvenile Hall.