Special Victims Bureau detectives with the L. A. County Sheriff’s Department said they arrested a second man in connection with allegations from a woman who was sexually assaulted by more than one suspect while under the influence at a troubled former nightspot in the Valencia mall in 2023. Sgt. Joseph Mesa of the Special Victims Bureau said in a phone interview Wednesday the arrest of 35-year-old Mario Nathan Mestizo, of Canyon Country, is related to their look into allegations of a February 2023 sexual assault that was reported at Black N’ Blue. The restaurant/night club in Valencia abruptly closed last year after numerous complaints. Mesa said that, during the course of the initial investigation, one suspect, a 36-year-old California City cashier named Clarence Dewayne Ross, was identified and arrested. SVU detectives filed an arrest warrant for Ross, who was taken into custody by Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station patrol deputies in May on suspicion of oral copulation with a victim who was intoxicated or under the influence of controlled substances. After Ross was arrested and initially held in lieu of $100,000 bail, he was released that same day on his own recognizance. Ross was charged May 12 and pleaded not guilty to the charge on Sept. 29. He’s due back in court in January. “Later DNA analysis indicated the possible involvement of a second suspect,” Mesa wrote in an email Wednesday. “Following this development and based on findings during the investigation, Mestizo was arrested in connection with the case, and the case was submitted to the D. A.’s office.” Mestizo was picked up by patrol deputies Tuesday on suspicion of rape by use of intoxicants, according to Sheriff’s Department arrest records. Mestizo did not have a court date listed in his custody records, but they indicated he had a court appearance at the San Fernando Superior Court scheduled for Thursday. Mestizo remains in custody with no bail amount listed as of this story’s publication. A formal accusation investigated by Alcoholic Beverage Control cites 19 different criminal incidents that originated from Black N’ Blue while it was operational, ranging from public intoxication to more than one allegation of a sexual assault of an intoxicated woman, to a shooting that occurred on Halloween in 2023. The storefront has been vacant since Black N’ Blue’s abrupt departure in February 2024.
https://signalscv.com/2025/11/two-facing-charges-from-alleged-rape-at-former-mall-spot/
Two facing charges from alleged rape at former mall spot
