Austin Allen Eis pled guilty Friday to ten felony charges after violent crime spree in April of 2023
VENTURA COUNTY, Calif. – During a change-of-plea hearing Friday in Ventura County Superior Court, Austin Allen Eis of Camarillo plead guilty to ten felony charges and special allegations in connection to a series of violent attacks in April of 2023.
Eis pled guilty to the first-degree murder of 15-year-old Wesley Welling, multiple counts of premeditated attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon, and false imprisonment by violence stated the Ventura County District Attorney's Office in a press release about the conviction Friday.
Each count Eis pled guilty to is a strike offense under California's Three Strikes Law added the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.
Eis also admitted to multiple special allegations including the personal use of his car and a knife as a deadly weapon and that his actions in April inflicted great bodily injury noted the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.
On April 18, 2023, Eis entered a Simi Valley Wal-Mart and assaulted a greeter by spitting, pepper spraying, and then stabbing him multiple times before dragging a different employee across the store and leaving the scene detailed the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.
Eis then broke into his parents' Camarillo home while armed with a replica firearm and a knife to demand access to additional weapons before fleeing the area shared the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.
According to the Ventura County District Attorney's Office, Eis then intentionally drove into a group of Westlake High students standing on a sidewalk which killed Wesley Welling and injured multiple other students.
Witnesses reported that Eis accelerated toward the group of students before making impact and eventually overturned his vehicle when it collided with a nearby bus stop noted the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.
Several students had severe injuries that required surgery and extended medical treatments added the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.
"The defendant committed acts of terror and extreme violence that took the life of a teenage boy and shattered the lives of many others," said Ventura County District Attorney Erik Nasarenko. "While no number of guilty pleas will ever close the anguish of the victims and their families, they will ensure the defendant’s removal from society and impose accountability for his horrendous crimes."
Eis admitted to targeting the students, "out of personal frustrations and his desire to commit mass violence" and investigators discovered a history of violent threats, admiration for mass murders, and "adherence to extremist ideologies" explained the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.
According to the Ventura County District Attorney's Office, text messages and other communications showed that Eis had expressed his violent intentions for years.
Eis is currently scheduled for sentencing on April 14, 2025, where he faces 85 years to life in state prison stated the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.
The Ventura County District Attorney's Office added that Eis remains in custody without bail.
"The District Attorney’s offer was designed to reflect the full scope and severity of the defendant’s depraved actions for a sentence of 85 years to life," explained Senior Deputy District Attorney Amber Lee who prosecuted the case and is pictured above during Friday's court proceedings. "The sentence will not only reflect his premeditated and calculated actions after years of homicidal ideations, but also the horrific nature of the crime spree he unleashed on innocent members of our community. This disposition allows the dozens of victims to close this chapter of their lives without reliving the trauma through courtroom testimony."
