Pair Derailed After Robbery at Train Station

So much for the romance of the rails.

A 19-year-old man from Westlake Village who was awaiting the arrival of his sweetheart was recently robbed at the Moorpark Metrolink station by a knife-wielding man and his partner, police said.

The incident is unusual because Moorpark has one of the county's lowest crime rates, few cases occur at the train stop, and most that do are property crimes, said Ventura County Sheriff's Sgt. Jim Bullington.

"He's waiting in his car for his girlfriend to arrive from San Diego, and these guys come up and ask for a smoke," Bullington said.

As the victim turned to grab a pack of cigarettes, one of the robbers put a knife to his neck and demanded money. The victim handed over his wallet and the pair fled.

After a quick call to police, two suspects were apprehended minutes later.

Parolee Daniel Diaz, 21, and Michael Gutierrez, 18, both of Moorpark, remained in jail Sunday on suspicion of robbery.

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Paul Rogers, the Ojai arborist who offered the unpopular advice that led to oak trees in Libbey Park being chopped down, had a scare recently when a suspicious package arrived at his house, authorities said.

His caution was understandable, given the furor that developed regarding the trees. Several hundred people staged protests over the removal of the trees, and one man perched in one for several hours before being talked down by police. In the end, two trees got the ax.

So on April 15, when a box arrived, Rogers called police. A card attached to the package read: "Thank you for your dedication to trees . . . "

"You don't know what's in there, and you think this could be something negative," Rogers said later, still unsure what the card meant.

The trusty bomb squad arrived, X-rayed the package and deemed it safe, Ventura County Sheriff's Capt. Rod Thompson said.

The box contained an altimeter, a device used for measuring the height of trees.

Rogers said it was probably meant to be a gift, but he still doesn't know who sent it.

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There's community policing and then there's community policing.

A 27-year-old Santa Barbara man suspected of stealing $250,000 from four banks in three counties, including one in Ojai, is behind bars after four citizens alerted police to his whereabouts, followed him and then tackled him when he jumped a police officer, authorities said.