Costco parking lot encounter treated as a homicide

A 35-year-old Agoura Hills man is behind bars in Ventura County, charged with murder in a case that has shaken communities on both sides of the county line — and drawn attention to one of Agoura Hills' most prominent families.

Abba Avrohom Bryski is accused of intentionally driving his Infiniti Q60 coupe into Nicholas Lang, 28, of Modesto, on the evening of Oct. 20 in the parking lot of the Costco property at 431 W. Ventura Blvd. in Camarillo, according to the Ventura County District Attorney's Office. Lang, a pavement-striping worker who was painting lines in the lot when he was struck at about 8:30 p.m., was taken to Ventura County Medical Center in Ventura, where he died from his injuries.

The Acorn first reported the charges, which were announced Oct. 26.

The Charges and the Case Against Bryski

Prosecutors allege the collision was deliberate. "This is a devastating and senseless loss of life," Ventura County District Attorney Erik Nasarenko said in a statement announcing the charges. "The victim was at work, painting lines on a new parking lot, when his life was tragically cut short by an individual whose alleged actions demonstrated a shocking disregard for human life."

Bryski faces one count of murder and an additional charge of resisting arrest. Senior Deputy District Attorney David Russell, a member of the District Attorney's Office Homicide Unit, is prosecuting the case.

The events of Oct. 20 unfolded quickly. Ventura County sheriff's deputies were dispatched to the Costco property after a report that a man had been struck by a vehicle, Sgt. Craig Hennes said. When they arrived, witnesses directed them to the driver involved — identified as Bryski — who was detained at the scene and later arrested on suspicion of murder. The Sheriff's Office Major Crimes Bureau and the Camarillo Investigations Unit responded, and Major Crimes detectives have taken over the case, investigating it as a homicide.

Authorities have not released details about what sparked the encounter or the events immediately preceding the alleged collision, leaving neighbors in Agoura Hills with unanswered questions about how a routine weeknight at a construction site ended in a fatal encounter.

A First Court Appearance, and a Long Wait Until Arraignment

Bryski appeared via Zoom — accompanied by attorney Monica Cummins, standing in for his attorney Mark Pachowicz — for his first appearance Oct. 26 in Ventura County Superior Court before Judge Ferdinand Inumerable. The defense requested a continuance, which the court granted. Bryski's arraignment was pushed to Nov. 18 at 1:30 p.m. in Courtroom 12. He was remanded to custody and is being held without bail.

"We are committed to holding the defendant accountable and pursuing justice for the victim and his loved ones," Nasarenko said.

For Ventura County prosecutors, the case is being handled within the Homicide Unit — an indication of how seriously the office is treating the filing. For the Lang family in Modesto, the weeks ahead include the beginning of what is typically a lengthy criminal process, starting with next month's arraignment.

A Prominent Agoura Hills Family

The case has reverberated through Agoura Hills in part because of the defendant's family ties. Bryski's father, Rabbi Moshe Bryski, is the executive director of Chabad of the Conejo, a network of synagogues serving communities across the western San Fernando Valley and Conejo Valley, including Agoura Hills, Calabasas and Thousand Oaks. The rabbi has been a fixture of local civic and religious life for decades.

Community members have begun grappling with how to weigh the charges against the backdrop of the family's long local standing. Denis Weber, a former Agoura Hills mayor and longtime family friend, urged residents not to let the case eclipse generations of service.

"I think of all the positive things Rabbi Bryski, all the other rabbis and their families, and the Chabad have done over the past 40 some years in this community, and that people don't forget about all those positive things and only concentrate on the one disastrous thing affiliated with the name Bryski," Weber told The Acorn.

The alleged crime itself did not occur in Agoura Hills — it took place roughly 40 miles west, at a high-profile Camarillo development. But because the accused is an Agoura Hills resident whose family is deeply woven into the community's civic fabric, the case has landed heavily here.

The Site: A Costco Weeks From Opening

The incident occurred at the site of a new Costco warehouse that was scheduled to open Oct. 30, according to The Acorn. The gas station on the same property opened in May while construction on the warehouse continued. Lang was working on striping in the parking lot — the kind of finishing work that typically happens in the final days before a store opens — when he was struck.

The contrast between the anticipation surrounding the store's debut and the tragedy on the property has added to the sense of loss in the area.

What Comes Next

Bryski remains in custody without bail pending his Nov. 18 arraignment in Ventura County Superior Court. Whether additional details about what led to the encounter will emerge in court filings or at future hearings remains to be seen; authorities have so far declined to elaborate.

Residents with information about the incident are asked to contact Detective Erik Hernandez at 805-384-4729 or Detective Gerardo Cruz at 805-384-4726.

For Agoura Hills, the weeks ahead will likely bring difficult conversations — about a family many residents know well, a young worker who never made it home, and a criminal case that is only beginning to unfold across the county line.