Road-Attacks Suspect Appears in Court

A 31-year-old El Rio man appeared briefly in Ventura County Municipal Court on Tuesday on charges that he attacked--and in one instance raped--at least four women on a stretch of two-lane highway north of Camarillo last week.

Handcuffed and wearing jail blues, Silverio Ambriz stared at the floor with his head hung low as a public defender was appointed to his case. Set to enter a plea in two weeks, he remains in jail on $500,000 bail.

Ambriz is charged with 13 felony offenses, including rape, kidnapping for sexual purposes, sexual battery, robbery and assault with a deadly weapon. The crimes allegedly involve ramming four female motorists with his truck on California 118 Thursday night and Friday morning.

In the most serious offense, authorities say Ambriz rammed his truck into the back of an 18-year-old woman’s car, forcing her car to overturn. He allegedly pulled her from the wreckage and raped her in a nearby lemon orchard.

Ambriz is accused of ramming a 24-year-old woman’s car and trying to sexually assault her after she got out to check for damage. He is also accused of attacking two other women in similar assaults, one on California 118 and another on city streets in Camarillo.

Because of the number of serious felony charges--including four counts of assault with a deadly weapon on four different victims--authorities requested a bail increase to $1 million.

But Deputy Public Defender Bruce Freed requested that bail remain at its current $500,000.

“I think $500,000 is more than adequate,” Freed said, adding that an increase would put bail near the amount set in capital murder cases.

In arguing for a bail increase, Deputy Dist. Atty. Jacqueline Wise stressed the number of victims and gravity of the alleged crimes. “There are 13 charges with four victims. These are serious crimes.” She also told Judge Steven Hintz that Ambriz could be a flight risk.

Hintz kept bail at $500,000 and set arraignment for Dec. 16.

Meanwhile, Sheriff’s Department detectives continued their investigation into the attacks and received several calls from people saying they had information about similar crimes.

“We still have to investigate whether it was the same vehicle or the same person,” Deputy Cheryl Wade said.

Wade received five such calls Tuesday but would not elaborate about the case because it is under investigation.