Authorities Seek Details on Local Arson Cases

A serial arsonist from Oxnard who collected souvenirs from the fires he set and has burned off his fingertips to avoid detection by police is in trouble again.

Ronald K. Sneed, 56, has been arrested in Vancouver, Wash., on suspicion of setting 30 fires in that city since September, authorities said.

The former television repairman was convicted of setting seven fires in Ventura in 1991, including one that gutted the local Red Cross office. He got 13 years in prison but was freed a couple of years ago, after becoming eligible for parole by serving half his time.

Washington investigators called Ventura County Deputy Dist. Atty. Richard Simon this week after identifying Sneed. Police there need help building a case, Simon said, because evidence linking him to some of the recent fires is thin.

Simon, who prosecuted Sneed, worked on another Ventura County arson case a few years ago in which a judge allowed testimony at trial that linked a Silver Strand woman to a series of fires, despite a lack of physical evidence.

Authorities in Vancouver believe Sneed set fire to several occupied businesses, trash bins and fields of brush. No one was injured, said Simon, who plans to forward information on both local cases to Washington state.

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Some Moorpark residents are making some noise of their own about teens who buzz around on motorized scooters.

Since January, police here have handled 21 disturbance calls concerning the two-wheelers. Most of the cases are noise complaints from people who live near local parks, said Ventura County Sheriff’s Senior Deputy Ed Tumbleson.

With the gift-buying season right around the corner, authorities are alerting parents about problems with the popular item. And it’s not just the annoying buzz these things make.

“As a parent, I personally wouldn’t go tell my kid to play in the street, but parents are buying these things and they are playing in the street,” Tumbleson said. “A kid is going to lose if they get hit by a car.”

In fact, in January an 8-year-old boy on a motorized scooter slammed into a parked car on Fremont Street and suffered minor injuries. Since 1998, there have been more than 50 injuries and one death statewide related to the scooters.

Parents, in Moorpark and elsewhere, may want to know the rules. According to a state law that took effect in January, these little hummers, which run several hundred dollars each, may be operated only by someone over 16. Drivers are required to wear a helmet and lights are required at night.

Motorized scooters are not allowed on sidewalks and must be operated as close to the right curb as possible. And laws regarding driving while intoxicated also apply.

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Here’s another one from the stupid-tricks file.

Two Fillmore guys charged with drug crimes but out of jail on bail were busted again last week after allegedly selling marijuana and cocaine to undercover cops.

Jose Luis Becerra, 22, and Jorge Armando Valenzuela, 21, were arrested at the same Fillmore house where Becerra was arrested in June. This time around, detectives say they found a pound of pot and an ounce of cocaine in 30 small plastic bags.

Sheriff’s deputies got a tip that the pair were dealing dope in Fillmore, so they went undercover and bought drugs from them several times, said Ventura County Sheriff’s Sgt. Bob Garcia.

The dealing led police to a house in the 300 block of A Street, where they found the stashes and packaging materials, a scale and other drug paraphernalia, Garcia said.

The men were arrested again and booked on suspicion of possessing and selling drugs. Because their activity allegedly continued while they were out on bail, the new bond for each man was set at $500,000. The pair are currently being held at Ventura County Jail.

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Holly J. Wolcott can be reached at 653-7581 or at holly.wolcott@latimes.com.