East Valley Jail to reopen in T.O.

The East Valley Jail on Olsen Road, which was shut last July by Ventura County Sheriff Bob Brooks due to budget constraints, will soon reopen.

The action comes in the wake of a lawsuit settlement last week between the city of Thousand Oaks and Ventura County.

The lawsuit was consolidated in a related settlement that took place last week between the sheriff and district attorney’s office involving public safety funding.

The new agreement has allowed the city to avoid a potentially costly trial, according to Mayor Claudia-Bill de la Peña.

The jail closure had caused hardship for the cities it served, including Thousand Oaks, Moorpark and Simi Valley. Deputies from those cities had to drive at least 50 miles roundtrip to Ventura to book suspects into the main county jail. The commute and the time it took to book suspects added up to several hours, pulling officers away from on-street patrols.

"Although it has been a difficult period of litigation, I am thrilled that we have assurances that the jail will reopen and we can once again have a full complement of deputies providing public safety services to our residents," said Thousand Oaks Councilmember Dennis Gillette.

––Sophia Fischer