Simi Man Accused of Threatening Father

A 25-year-old Simi Valley man was in Ventura County Jail on Saturday night after he allegedly threatened to kill his father, authorities said.

Troy Jefferson was being held in lieu of more than $20,000 bail after police found him chasing his father with a knife in Simi Valley, according to Simi Valley Police Sgt. Gordon Weeks.

The incident began about 11 a.m. after police responded to numerous 911 calls of a man yelling for help and being chased in the 1500 block of Meander Drive, authorities said.

Police arrived and found Jefferson in the street “holding the knife in a threatening manner,” Weeks said.

The officers ordered the man to drop the knife, and when he failed to do so, he was taken down by a shotgun that fires rubber bullets. This was the first time the weapon, one of three purchased in April, had been used on a suspect, according to Weeks.

“This weapon actually saved the suspect’s life today,” Weeks said.

Jefferson was booked into the East County Jail in Simi Valley before being transferred to the main jail in Ventura.

Bail for the first two alleged offenses, assault with a deadly weapon and exhibiting a weapon at police officers was set at $20,000, according to a jail spokeswoman. A warrant issued after Jefferson failed to appear in court on a speeding ticket increased the bail $407.50, she said.

Jefferson’s father, Thomas Jefferson, 46, was not injured in the incident.