A man who worked as a bouncer at a popular Camarillo bar and restaurant is speaking out after he said he was beaten by two off-duty Ventura County sheriff’s deputies while on the job.
On March 30, shortly after midnight, Jaiden Perkins was working at the El Rey Cantina when he noticed a woman crying hysterically at a back table with three men and another woman.
Surveillance video showed Dylan Davis, 33, allegedly pushing his wife several times inside the restaurant before leaving the table. The wife, who was crying, returned to the table where her friends appeared to comfort her.
Dylan Davis, 33, (white shirt) and Anthony Malagon, 27, are seen leaving the El Rey Cantina in Camarillo shortly before the violent altercation with the victim on March 30, 2025. (El Rey Cantina) 
Jaiden Perkins seen checking on Dylan Davis’ crying wife and her friends in the El Rey Cantina on March 30, 2025. (El Rey Cantina) 
Jaiden Perkins speaks to KTLA on May 27, 2025. (KTLA) 
The El Rey Cantina on Ventura Boulevard in Camarillo, California. (KTLA) 
Jaiden Perkins is seen in a personal photo.
Davis and Anthony Malagon, 27, both identified as Ventura County sheriff’s deputies, are seen walking out of the restaurant. Perkins approaches the wife’s table to check on the woman shortly after.
“I was doing my regular rounds and I noticed a woman sitting at the table,” Perkins said. “She’s just frantically crying, seemed very not at ease, very shaky. I ask her if she’s okay and she tells me nothing.”
Perkins said the wife’s friends assured him that everything was fine. So he leaves and continues getting ready to close up for the night. Eventually, the wife and her friends exit the bar through the front door.
That’s when Perkins suddenly heard shouting and commotion outside the restaurant. He quickly walks out and allegedly spots Davis assaulting his wife near a sidewalk bench.
“He shoved her down,” Perkins recalled. “She got back up and he just started choking her. I said, ‘Hey man, you cannot be touching a lady like that,’ and he says, ‘I’ll f***ing kill you!’ and he swings left to the right side of my face.”
Perkins swung back at Davis and that’s when the other deputy, Malagon, reportedly tackled him to the ground.
“So he starts kicking me and they’re stomping on my head,” he said.
The father of two said he thought they were going to kill him that night.
“In the moment, I thought, ‘I’m never going to see my children again,’” Perkins said.
According to the Ventura County Star, a bar patron eventually pulled one of the deputies off, and Perkins was able to grab someone’s phone to call 911. Perkins’ phone had been smashed during the violent altercation.
When the deputies threatened to kill him, Perkins said, “You’re not killing anyone, man. I just called the police. He said, ‘You mean my buddies? I’m a sheriff.’ That’s how I found out he was a [deputy],” he told the VC Star.
Perkins eventually lost consciousness and was transported to the hospital. He suffered a concussion and had injuries to his head, jaw, arms, back and neck.
“There’s really bad swelling on the side of my head, behind my ears,” he said.
He’s still dealing with the painful recovery. He left his security job at the El Rey Cantina due to the trauma and said his weakened state led to the loss of his two other jobs. Perkins also worked at a grocery store and as an Amazon delivery driver, roles that are physically demanding and require a pace that he can no longer keep up with.
“Just headaches every day, like throbbing in my head, [pain in] my back, just everything,” Perkins said.
According to the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office, both deputies were arrested for several felonies including battery causing serious injury and using force likely to cause significant injury. Davis was also arrested for inflicting injury on a spouse.
Both were placed on administrative leave as the assault remained under investigation.
In April, Perkins’ attorney filed a claim with Ventura County, seeking $1.06 million in damages — $10,000 for medical bills, $50,000 for loss of earnings, $500,000 in general damages and $500,000 in punitive damages.
“They were engaged in behavior that would be easily described as hotheaded,” said Maximiliano Galindo, Perkins’ attorney. “Deputy Malagon has a long family history within the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office, so you would expect that he would know best on how to behave himself.”
According to the sheriff’s office, Malagon’s sister, father and uncle are all employed by the department.
The Ventura County Sheriff’s Office released a statement on the incident, saying:
“The Sheriff’s Major Crimes Bureau is handling the criminal investigation, and we are fully committed to uncovering all relevant facts and completing a thorough investigation. Additionally, the Sheriff’s Internal Affairs Bureau will be conducting its own parallel investigation to determine the extent of any departmental policy or procedural violations.
Both investigations are critical to ensure accountability at every level. I want to assure the public and our community that the Sheriff’s Office takes this matter very seriously. We hold our deputies to the highest standards of conduct; any violation of those standards will be addressed appropriately, without hesitation…as that is what both our community and our agency expect and deserve.”
Perkins’ attorneys said that Ventura County appears interested in settling the claim. A mediation session with county officials is scheduled in June.
