Michael Douglas Brambles was arrested more than three decades after authorities say he attacked a woman closing her Thousand Oaks business.
VENTURA, CA — A former Los Angeles Police Department detective who served decades in prison for armed robberies and sexual assaults has been charged in Ventura County with kidnapping for robbery in connection with a 1994 attack on a Thousand Oaks business owner, prosecutors said.
Michael Douglas Brambles, 77, of Santa Maria was arrested Aug. 12 by Ventura County District Attorney investigators with assistance from Santa Maria police. Prosecutors charged him with kidnapping to commit robbery while personally using a firearm. The criminal complaint also contains several aggravating allegations. Brambles is being held on $2 million bail and was expected to be arraigned Aug. 14, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
The charge stems from an April 19, 1994, attack at Arabella Boutique in Thousand Oaks. Prosecutors allege Brambles entered the store as the owner, identified publicly only as SW, was preparing to close. Authorities say he pointed a handgun at her, forced her into a back room, restrained her, sexually assaulted her and stole property from the business before leaving. SW then called 911, and Ventura County sheriff’s deputies responded. The sexual assault allegation cannot be separately charged because the statute of limitations has expired, prosecutors said.
Investigators identified Brambles as a suspect within months of the attack, according to the District Attorney’s Office. At the same time, he was being prosecuted in Los Angeles County for a series of crimes involving armed robberies and sexual assaults. He was convicted in 1996 of 26 counts, including 18 armed robberies and multiple sexual assaults, as well as firearm-related offenses. He received a 102-year state prison sentence.
Ventura County authorities did not pursue their case at the time because Brambles’ Los Angeles County sentence was expected to keep him in prison for the rest of his life. Prosecutors said SW agreed with the decision based on that expectation. Brambles was instead released on parole in 2020 after serving about 26 years. Ventura County District Attorney Erik Nasarenko said the earlier dismissal did not prevent prosecutors from reviving the kidnapping-for-robbery allegation decades later.
The renewed investigation grew out of Ventura County’s Sexual Assault Kit Initiative, which includes reviews of older and closed cases. Authorities said investigators examining evidence from SW’s case learned that Brambles had been released from prison. The Los Angeles Times reported that authorities also said DNA evidence links Brambles to the 1994 attack. Investigators contacted SW and asked whether she wanted prosecutors to move forward with a new case.
SW appeared with law enforcement officials at an Aug. 13 news conference and said she had been surprised to learn that Brambles had been free for years. She said she agreed to participate in the renewed prosecution in hopes that her case could also support other survivors. Ventura County Sheriff Jim Fryhoff said the discovery of Brambles’ release was especially difficult for a victim who had believed he would remain incarcerated for life.
Brambles had spent 23 years with the LAPD before retiring in March 1994, shortly before the Thousand Oaks attack alleged by prosecutors. He had previously worked in the department’s Organized Crime Intelligence Division and was involved in several prominent investigations. His police career was later overshadowed by the criminal case that led to his 1996 convictions. During that trial, Brambles maintained that he had been wrongly identified, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The Ventura County complaint alleges that the 1994 offense involved significant violence, that the victim was particularly vulnerable and that the manner of the alleged crime showed planning, sophistication or professionalism. Those claims are allegations and have not been proven in the new case. The District Attorney’s Office said Brambles could face a maximum sentence of 12 years to life in state prison if convicted on all counts and allegations.
Senior Deputy District Attorney Emily Reber of the office’s Sexual Assault Kit Initiative Unit is prosecuting the case. Brambles was transported to Ventura County following his arrest, and his first court appearance was expected Aug. 14. The new charge concerns allegations that were never adjudicated in the earlier Ventura County case.
Author note: Last updated August 14, 2026.