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Oxnard man arrested on gun, drug charges after ‘brief struggle,’ VCSO says

Guns, ammunition and drug paraphernalia are shown in a March 8, 2023, photo provided by the Ventura County Sheriff's Office.

An Oxnard man faces multiple felony charges after he allegedly engaged in a brief standoff with the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office before being captured and found to be in possession of a gun and drugs, officials said.

Pedro Tello, 33, was arrested at his place of work in the 300 block of Camarillo Ranch Road in Camarillo on Friday, the VCSO said in a news release.


Detectives were conducting a gun investigation into Tello, a convicted felon who is prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition, at about 4 p.m. that day when he fled, hid inside the business and was ultimately apprehended after “a brief struggle,” the release said.

“Inside the business location where Tello hid, detectives located an unregistered semi-automatic handgun, which was loaded with ammunition,” the VCSO said. “Detectives also determined Tello was in possession of narcotics smoking paraphernalia and a usable amount of a controlled substance.”

In a search of Tello’s Oxnard residence, detectives found another firearm, though this one belonged to “an adult female” who had “stored [the gun and ammo] in an unsecured manner,” the release said. The woman, whose identity has not been released, was cited and released for criminal storage of a firearm.

Tello, meanwhile, was charged on Tuesday with multiple charges:

Tello is being held at the Ventura County Main Jail in lieu of $130,000 bail. He is due to appear in Ventura County Superior Court on March 21.

Anyone with information about illegal weapons is asked to call Senior Deputy Matt Smith at 805-677-8771.