Lewis Named Chief of Local Deputies

Capt. Mike Lewis, a 20-year veteran of the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department, will take over leadership of the deputies who patrol Moorpark, the department announced Monday.

Lewis replaces Capt. Marty Rouse, who has been named the new head of operations at the department’s training academy. The new assignments for both men begin Nov. 3.

A resident of the Santa Rosa Valley, Lewis has served the department throughout the county. He has been a patrol officer in Camarillo and has worked with the department’s SWAT team.

He currently runs the county’s newest jail, the 780-bed Todd Road Jail near Santa Paula. Todd Road “is a big assignment, and I’m going to another big assignment,” he said. “The client base is a little different, though.”

During his Moorpark tenure, Lewis would like to see more police involvement with the city’s teens, perhaps by extending drug-abuse education classes--which currently end in junior high--into high school. But he said he wants to learn more about the community before setting concrete goals for himself.

“My approach is to learn the city, get to know the individuals there,” Lewis said.

He has already met with several City Council members, and they were impressed.

“I was convinced immediately that a correct choice had been made,” said Councilman Pat Hunter, who is also a sergeant with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. “I’m optimistic that he’s going to be a valuable addition.”