Community
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Arrest Related to Fatal Overdose Investigation
| Nature of Incident: | Arrest Related to Fatal Overdose Investigation | ||||
| Report Number: | 21-38696 | ||||
| Location: | 3900 Block of Spring Road- Moorpark, CA | ||||
| Date & Time: | October 1, 2021 1440 Hours | ||||
| Unit(s) Responsible: | Ventura County Interagency Pharmaceutical Crimes Unit (PCU) Moorpark Police Special Enforcement Unit (SED) Thousand Oaks Patrol |
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| (S)uspects, (V)ictims, (P)arty, (D)ecedent |
City of Residence |
Age | |||
| (S) Joshua Surmani |
Thousand Oaks |
26 | |||
| Narrative: | |||||
| On October 1, 2021, the Ventura County Sheriff’s Pharmaceutical Crimes Unit (PCU) concluded an investigation into Joshua Surmani, who was wanted in connection with his sale of narcotics to a Thousand Oaks resident which resulted in their fatal overdose. On March 23, 2021, Thousand Oaks Patrol deputies were dispatched to the 2500 block of Vista Wood Court in the City of Thousand Oaks reference a subject who was deceased as the result of a drug overdose. PCU detectives took over the investigation and identified Surmani as the suspect who sold the fentanyl to the victim that caused their death. On October 1, 2021, PCU detectives, with the assistance of Moorpark Police SED detectives, located Surmani in the City of Moorpark and arrested him for 11352 HS- Sales of a Controlled Substance. Detectives served a search warrant at Surmani’s residence in the 1300 block of Oakridge Court and seized two handguns. Surmani was booked into the Ventura County Jail and is scheduled for arraignment on October 14, 2021 in Ventura County Superior Court. He was released from custody after posting $50,000 bail. The public may contact investigators from the Ventura County Interagency Pharmaceutical Crimes Unit at (805) 383-8700 or [email protected] with additional information about this case, or any other information related to narcotics. The Ventura County Pharmaceutical Crimes Unit is a task force made up of members from the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office and the Thousand Oaks Police Department; The primary mission of the task force is combatting the transfer of legal prescription medication and fentanyl to the illegal market. In addition, the task force works to identify and stop new trends of abuse among the younger population and investigates overdoses due to both prescription medication and illicit drug use. |
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| Prepared by: | Sergeant John Hajducko |
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| News Release Date: | October 8, 2021 | ||||
| Media Follow-Up Contact: | Detective Anna Wypchlak (805) 383-8714 |
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| Approved by: |
Captain Brian Slominski |
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Address/Location
Ventura County Sheriff's Office
800 S Victoria Ave
Ventura, CA 93003
Contact
Emergency: 9-1-1
Non-emergencies: 805-654-9511