Man in Idaho Arrested for Criminal Threats Against Santa Paula Police Department

SANTA PAULA, Calif. (KEYT) – A former resident of the Santa Paula area was arrested Wednesday morning following his return to Ventura County after he made criminal threats to carry out a shooting directed at the Santa Paula Police Station and kill officers.

In a press release, the Santa Paula Police Department says they were made aware of a person in the state of Idaho making threats to conduct a shooting at the police station and specifically kill police officers. The department detailed that the 70-year-old is from the Santa Paula and planned to return to the Ventura County area soon.

While in Idaho, the man mentioned that he planned to use protective ballistic equipment as part of his plan to conduct a shooting.

Through collaboration with multiple agencies, the man was tracked down and arrested in the city of Ventura on July 29th. Search warrants were issued in Ventura and Santa Paula areas, and a handgun, ammunition, a ballistic helmet, and diagrams to manufacture assault weapons were among items seized as evidence.

The department says the man also has a pending criminal case from 2025 a variety of illegal firearms charges. The Ventura Police Department located over 130 firearms in that case.

The man's bail has been set at $1,020,000.

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