Ojai Identity Theft Suspect Returns to Scene of Crime to Strike Again

An Oxnard man arrested once for mail and identity theft in Ojai was arrested again after police allege he went back to the same neighborhood and committed the same series of crimes he was originally arrested for.

62-year-old Manuel Rosales was arrested and booked at Ventura County Jail in January 2016 after police released a surveillance photo of a suspect making purchases at a Target store in Ventura County using a stolen credit card.

Nearly five months later, a resident called police to report a suspect, whom he recognized as Rosales, stealing mail from mailboxes in the 1100 block of Rancho Drive in Ojai.

Police contacted Rosales and allege he confessed to stealing mail in hopes of obtaining documents to commit identity theft again.

Rosales was booked at Ventura County Jail for mail theft and attempted identity theft. His bail was set at $130,000. That’s more than double what his original bail was at the time of his first arrest.