Oxnard Police Chief Benites to Retired

Oxnard Police Chief Jason Benites officially retired Wednesday, November 3, 2026, ending a 33-year career with the Oxnard Police Department — a tenure that began when officers navigated by Thomas Guide map books and carried little more than a baton, pepper spray and a firearm, and ends in an era of drones, body cameras and DNA-based genealogy investigations.

Benites marked his 33rd anniversary with the department on Sunday, November 1, and spoke with Vida Newspaper two days before his retirement date, reflecting on a career that spanned nearly the full arc of modern policing technology in Ventura County's largest city.

His departure comes just months after one of the defining achievements of his final years as chief: the arrest in the long-dormant Sierra Linda Park murder case.

A Cold Case Solved After 11 Years

On the morning of November 13, 2014, Labh Nigah — an immigrant from India who worked multiple jobs as a cashier to support his family — was ambushed and stabbed multiple times in Sierra Linda Park, shortly after walking his son to Sierra Linda Elementary School. Investigators collected DNA evidence at the scene, but the profile matched no one in federal databases, and the case went cold for more than 11 years.

That changed with the help of the FBI's genealogy task force, which traced relatives in Houston, Texas, and Ventura County. On April 2, the Oxnard Police Department and the Ventura County Sheriff's Office arrested Jose Antonio Jimenez just blocks from the crime scene. Jimenez, 32, has been charged with murder with special allegations for use of a deadly weapon, great violence, and targeting a vulnerable victim, Benites told Vida Newspaper.

"It was especially disturbing, one of those cases that makes you say, we've got to solve this one," Benites said.

For Oxnard residents who remembered the 2014 killing — a father attacked in a neighborhood park moments after dropping his child at school — the arrest represented closure that many had feared would never come.

From Thomas Guides to Drones

Benites' career offers a window into how dramatically policing has changed since 1993, when he joined the force. Officers then relied on basic radios, carried no Tasers, and were instructed to find a payphone and call 911 if they needed to reach a dispatcher. Body cameras and license plate readers did not exist.

Among the technological advances under his watch, Benites pointed to the department's drone program as one of his proudest achievements. The drones arrive at calls ahead of ground units — what Benites called "a huge safety upgrade for responding officers." The department has also transitioned to a modern radio communications system that is part of a countywide digital network.

But Benites emphasized that technology alone has not defined the department. When he first came to Oxnard, what stood out most was the city's embrace of community policing — the philosophy of building public partnerships and addressing root causes rather than simply reacting to calls for service. Oxnard was an early leader in the approach, Benites said, and the department has "refined it over the years."

Navigating Immigration Enforcement and Eroded Trust

Some of the most difficult moments of Benites' tenure as chief involved federal immigration enforcement. The department held stakeholder meetings with residents about federal officers and ICE detaining people in Oxnard, gatherings where Benites said officers were often "getting clobbered" as residents expected local police to intervene — even though state law prevents officers from assisting federal agents.

"One of our challenges was to explain the rule of law," Benites said, noting that officers frequently found themselves caught between ICE agents and detainees. "Whether people like it or not, these are the laws – it's hard to explain that to our public."

Over time, he said, the meetings shifted toward a more constructive focus: helping people affected by the detentions. Still, Benites acknowledged the department has taken a significant hit in public trust, and he pointed to concrete evidence — a significant decline in calls for service between 2024 and 2025. "People are still apprehensive to talk to the police department," he said, adding that rebuilding that trust will be an ongoing effort for the department.

A Career Shaped by Mentors

Asked about the people who influenced him, Benites credited several supervisors and colleagues: Commander Bob Elder, with whom he spent late nights early in his career discussing community policing; Chief Art Lopez, who gave him opportunities to prove himself; Chief John Crombach, who promoted him to assistant chief; Chief Jeri Williams; Assistant Chief Charles Hookstra; and Assistant Chief Tom Cady, who is Benites' father-in-law.

His decision to join the department traces back to a single ride-along in 1992 with Officer Steve Noguera — the first Oxnard police officer he ever met. "Based on how he worked, it pretty much cemented my decision to join Oxnard PD," Benites said.

As for what he'll miss most, Benites pointed not to titles or milestones but to the daily collaboration — the banter and problem-solving inside the department, where "no two days are exactly the same."

"I will miss people who have been our supporters and our critics but who have genuinely wanted to make Oxnard a better and safer place to live," Benites said. "That's what I'll miss the most."

The city now faces the task of selecting a successor to lead a department of hundreds of officers at a moment when rebuilding community trust and continuing the modernization Benites championed will be the central challenges. City officials have not yet announced details of the transition or the process for choosing the next chief.