3 Youths Held in Raid on Camarillo Home

At least three youths who had raided a vacant Camarillo home Friday night were arrested after an alert neighbor called deputies and five Sheriff’s Department patrol cars and a helicopter swooped in to apprehend them, authorities said.

The Euclid Avenue resident called deputies just before 8 p.m. when she saw what appeared to be a group of juvenile males entering a nearby home. She knew the owners were on vacation, said Ventura County Sheriff’s Sgt. Larry Meyers.

Meyers did not know exactly how many youths had raided the house or how old they were. Authorities were also unsure what the prowlers were doing in the house, but the neighbor told a 911 dispatcher that she spotted two of them drinking in the backyard, Meyers said.

As the five patrol cars and helicopter converged on the house, the prowlers attempted to flee, but the copter tracked them with heat-sensing night-vision equipment, and sheriff’s deputies nabbed the group.

On Friday night, the individuals were in custody at the Camarillo station and were expected to be booked into Juvenile Hall, Meyers said.