Oxnard Police Department Cold Cases

Lenard Chester, who was convicted of the 1980 murder of Sarah Leah Bullis, is set to be sentenced on August 3, 2020 in Courtroom 48 at 8:30 a.m. I will update you after the sentencing.

I have recently had some wonderful people come forward with information on some of our old cases. This has given us potential avenues to explore on these cases that may advance these investigations. Many of these folks who have contacted us have done so anonymously, which is fine. While I appreciate any information on these cases, I often have follow-up questions that I need to ask. While I absolutely respect someone's right to remain anonymous, I would love to speak to som...e of you directly. May I suggest that if you are going to provide some information that you believe is important on a case, and you wish to remain anonymous, please consider setting up a new email address or a free texting app, so we can communicate through that. This way you can maintain your anonymity and still allow us to communicate. For anyone that wishes to speak to me directly, I can be contacted at [email protected], [email protected], or at 805-385-8174. Thank you all again for taking in interest in these cases and all of your help.

Today, after almost 40 years, Sarah Leah Bullis received justice. Earlier this afternoon, it took a jury less than two hours to convict Lenard Len Chester for the special circumstance first degree murder of Bullis. She was raped and murdered on December 1, 1980. This conviction was the result of a team effort between the Oxnard Police Department, the Ventura County District Attorney's Office, and the Ventura County Sheriff's Department. For information on Oxnard Police Department's Cold Case Homicides please visit: www.coldcase.oxnardpd.org

The trial of Lenard Chester for the 1980 murder of Sarah Leah Bullis is moving forward. The prosecution is in the midst of presenting its case and the trial will move into next week. We will keep you updated as to the progress of the trial.

The homicide trial for the December 1980 murder of Sarah Leah Bullis began in Ventura County Superior Court yesterday. Lenard Chester is accused of her murder. The trial is expected to take several weeks.

Burbank Police Department recently used new Investigative Genetic Genealogy to identify a killer from the 1980's and arrest him. This person has some ties to Ventura County from back then. https://ktla.com//genealogy-used-to-charge-man-with-1980s/

I am looking for anyone that frequented Huntington's Disco in Oxnard in the late 1970's to early 1980's. It was located on Oxnard Blvd. near Wagon Wheel. Supposedly there was a sign in purple colored neon on the building. I am looking for anyone that may be able to answer some questions for me in regards to a homicide case that occurred in 1981.

SOLVED COLD CASE: In 2003, Brian Brown was shot and killed in the 4200 block of Terrace Avenue. In 2015, Oxnard police detectives gathered enough evidence to charge David Acosta with Brown's murder. Acosta was serving a prison sentence when he was arrested. Acosta pled guilty to manslaughter with a firearm. He was sentenced to 33 years in prison.

In memoriam of the Oxnard Police Department Cold Case victims murdered in the month of December. 12/19/1971 Ricardo Candelaria 12/07/1979 Cecilia Hinahon Gozar 12/01/1980 Sarah Leah Bullis... 12/11/1981 Lisa Gondek 12/09/1991 Vidal Espinoza Romero 12/04/1992 Arturo Rameriz Heredia 12/04/1992 Rosendo Obiedo Vargas 12/10/1992 Vicente Martinez Montanez 12/09/1996 Gabriel Cortez 12/07/2001 Saul Hernandez Rojas 12/20/2003 Ricardo Veronica 12/28/2004 Adrian Ernest Burton 12/10/2005 Elizabeth Castro Renteria 12/26/2005 Ralph Ismael Delacerda See more

Oxnard Cold Case Homicide Map

SOLVED COLD CASE: In 2005, Joaquin Castaneda was found shot to death in the 900 block of Richmond Avenue. In 2016, Oxnard police detectives gathered sufficient evidence to arrest Isaac Sinsun for Castaneda's murder. Sinsun was convicted of first degree murder and was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison.

SOLVED COLD CASE: In 1982, a female victim was kidnapped, robbed, and raped. DNA analysis was used to identify Delton Taylor as the suspect in this case. An arrest warrant was issued for Taylor and he was arrested in Bakersfield. In 2015, Taylor was convicted of kidnapping with intent to commit robbery. The rape charge could not be prosecuted due to statute of limitations. Taylor was sentenced to 7 years to life in prison.

If you have any information regarding a cold case murder, no matter how insignificant, please contact the Oxnard Police Department at (805)385-8174 or [email protected].