Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Man Arrested On Drug Dealing Charges Following Death Of Teenager In Ventura County

(Oxnard Police Department photo)
Oxnard Police dispaly some of the items seized from suspected drug dealer's home

Detectives have arrested a Ventura County man on drug charges following the overdose death of a 16-year-old girl.  The teen was found in an Oxnard alley after she had collapsed from drug use.  She later died in a hospital.  An autopsy showed that she had overdosed on Xanax.

The August death led to an investigation by the Oxnard Police Department’s Drug Enforcement Unit. 

Investigator identified Juan Ruiz of Oxnard as the possible drug supplier.  Following a two month long investigation, they served a search warrant at the 22-year-old man’s home in Oxnard. 

Detectives say Ruiz refused to open the door, and started flushing drugs down a toilet.  They broke into the home, and say they recovered a large amount of Xanax, cocaine, and other drugs, as well as evidence of drug dealing.  He was arrested on multiple drug dealing related charges.

Lance Orozco has been News Director of KCLU since 2001, providing award-winning coverage of some of the biggest news events in the region, including the Thomas and Woolsey brush fires, the deadly Montecito debris flow, the Borderline Bar and Grill attack, and Ronald Reagan's funeral.