Ventura Man Pleads Guilty to Extortion, Armed Robbery, Bank Fraud and Identity Theft Charges Related to Crime Spree Last Year

LOS ANGELES - A Ventura County man pleaded guilty today to 10 felonies for extorting a taco truck vendor, robbing two small businesses, and fraudulently using debit and credit cards from a victim he robbed at gunpoint during a crime spree late last year.

Oscar Aguirre Silva, 30, of Ventura, pleaded guilty to one count of interference with commerce by extortion (Hobbs Act), two counts of interference with commerce by robbery (Hobbs Act), three counts of bank fraud, two counts of attempted bank fraud, and two counts of aggravated identity theft.

Also pleading guilty today at a separate hearing was Edward Donaldo Ramirez Martinez, 28, of Ventura, Silva's accomplice, who pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated identity theft and one count of being a felon in possession of ammunition.

According to court documents, on November 6, 2023, Silva threatened violence to extort a taco truck vendor in Oxnard.

On November 10, 2023, Silva robbed a woman at gunpoint and stole her iPhone, and her purse, which contained a credit card and a debit card in the victim's name as well as a debit card in the name of another victim. Ramirez served as the getaway driver during this armed robbery. Both men then traveled to a Walmart store in Ventura, where they used the stolen cards to purchase $524 worth of merchandise. Later, Silva and another co-defendant, David Rey Reyes, 30, of Ventura, then used and attempted to use the stolen cards to purchase other items at an Oxnard smoke shop.

On November 25 and 26, 2023, Silva robbed two Oxnard businesses - a smoke shop and a grocery outlet.

Finally, on December 2, 2023, Ramirez, while under the influence of methamphetamine, possessed an assault rifle that did not bear a serial number - commonly known as a "ghost gun." The firearm carried four rounds of ammunition. Ramirez was not legally permitted to possess the ghost gun or the ammunition because of his February 2020 felony conviction in Ventura County Superior Court for carrying a loaded firearm.

United States District Judge Hernán D. Vera scheduled an August 8 sentencing hearing for Silva, at which time he will face a statutory maximum sentence of 30 years in federal prison for each bank fraud-related count, up to 20 years in federal prison for each Hobbs Actextortion and robbery count, and a mandatory two-year consecutive prison term for each aggravated identity theft count.

Judge Vera also scheduled an August 8 sentencing hearing for Ramirez, who will face a statutory maximum sentence of 12 years in federal prison, which includes a mandatory two-year prison sentence for the aggravated identity theft count.

Reyes pleaded guilty on March 6 to one count of attempted bank fraud, one count of bank fraud, and two counts of aggravated identity theft. Reyes will face up to 30 years in federal prison for each bank fraud count and a mandatory two-year consecutive prison sentence for each aggravated identity theft count at his May 29 sentencing hearing before Judge Vera.

All three defendants remain in federal custody.

The Ventura County Violent Crime Task Force, which includes the FBI, the Oxnard Police Department, the Ventura County Sheriff's Office, and the Ventura Police Department, conducted this investigation.

Assistant United States Attorney Lyndsi C. Allsop of the Violent and Organized Crime Section is prosecuting this case.

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