Police Arrest 4 With Possible Gang Ties

One suspected Simi Valley gang member was in jail and another was released Wednesday after an early morning police sweep of suspected gang members’ homes earlier this week.

The Police Department Task Force and other agencies searched nine locations Tuesday, arresting four young men who were on probation and citing two residents for violating building and safety codes.

A Ventura County Jail spokeswoman said Greg Monsour, 18, was released Wednesday evening after being arrested a day earlier on a felony grand theft warrant.

Juan Alvarengo, 20, was kept in jail on four outstanding warrants, including warrants for vandalism and for violating the terms of his probation. He is being held in lieu of $8,000 bail.

Police arrested a 17-year-old juvenile, whose name was not released because of his age, on suspicion of possessing marijuana, but the teenager was released after being cited.

A fourth suspected gang member, an 18-year-old Simi Valley resident whose name was not released because he was a juvenile when he was first placed on probation, was arrested for having a weapon.

The gang sweep marked the seventh such raid on suspected gang members’ homes since January and was part of the Simi Valley Police Task Force’s effort to eliminate gang violence and graffiti.

Ventura County probation officers and Simi Valley building and safety inspectors and code enforcement officers joined the police in the sweep.