False threat forces police to shut down Sequoia

A portion of Sequoia Avenue had to be shut down for several hours last Friday when officers were led to believe that a gym bag contained hazardous materials.

That incident began when Senior Officer T. Hilton of the Simi Valley Police Department initiated a traffic stop on a subject wanted for a burglary that had occurred in Simi Valley.

The suspect, Justin Loomis, 33, of Simi Valley, was arrested without incident for burglary, possession of burglar tools and fraudulent use of an access card.

Additional investigation uncovered a second suspect wanted in the burglary. Christopher Fleming, 36, a transient, was at a residence at 1895 Sequoia Ave.

Hilton and other officers went to the Sequoia residence at 1:34 p.m. and tried to arrest Fleming.

As the officers attempted to contact the home's occupants, Fleming left the house and tried to escape over the back wall. Fleming saw the officers and then ran back inside the house.

The officer entered the home and arrested Fleming for burglary, possession of stolen property, fraudulent use of an access card and a parole violation.

Fleming had left a gym bag in the entry of the residence. He told the officers that the bag had potentially explosive contents and the officers saw that Fleming had his own hazmat suit.

The area was subsequently evacuated and traffic was shut down on north- and southbound Sequoia Avenue.

Ventura County Fire Department Hazmat arrived and asked for assistance from the Ventura County Sheriff 's Department Bomb Squad. When the Bomb Squad arrived, the California Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement was consulted.

The Bomb Squad and Hazmat Team determined that the gym bag contained no hazardous materials.

The bag's owner was eventually identified and he confirmed that the property inside the bag had been stolen during an unrelated burglary in Thousand Oaks.

The owner took the bag home, along with other stolen property of his found in the home. The scene was cleared at about 7:11 p.m. and the roadways reopened.