Supporters Downplay Tow Truck Driver Was Any Threat In Oxnard Crosswalk Incident Do You Agree With Them?

The tow truck driver facing felony charges of driving under the influence when he ran down a mother and her two small children in an Oxnard crosswalk Tuesday was on parole for making terrorist threats. The prosecutor who handled that case says the terrorist threats had to do with a shoplifting incident at a Von’s in Oxnard in 2008. Deputy DA Erin Meister tells KVTA News that 45-year-old Mehran Khamseh of Santa Barbara was convicted by a jury of the felony charge of making terrorist threats against a store employee who had followed Khamseh out of the store after seeing him shoplift some merchandise. Khamseh turned on the employee, claimed he had a gun, and then threatened the employee. The employee immediately tackled Khamseh and held him for police. No gun was found. The term terrorist threat has since been changed to criminal threat. The incident, plus a prior conviction of petty theft, was enough to get Khamseh a 2 year state prison sentence, although he served less than that because of time already spent in jail and good time-work time credits both locally and in state prison. Khamseh was on parole for that incident when he ran down the mother and children in that crosswalk Tuesday. Oxnard Police say he was also under the influence of drugs. He remains in jail on no bail because of the parole hold and because he is considered an illegal immigrant. He will be in court Thursday afternoon to be arraigned in connection with Tuesday’s incident. Meanwhile the two children, a 1-year-old boy and a 3-year-old girl were transferred to Cedars Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles in critical condition after being dragged under Khamseh’s tow truck for a quarter mile. Their mother, 19-year-old Alma Lopez of Oxnard, was recovering at VCMC from moderate injuries.

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