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Fillmore Resident Arrested for Attempted Murder in Oxnard
 (l-r) Anthony Mendez of Fillmore, 19 and Julio Hurtado of Oxnard, 21 By Ventura County Sheriff Department — Tuesday, February 22nd, 2011
 Ventura County Sheriff's Department On 11-1-2010, Sheriff’s Deputies were dispatched to a shooting call in the 2600 Blk of Eucalyptus in the unincorporated area of Nyeland Acres. When they arrived, they found numerous empty shell casings from two different caliber handguns. While deputies attempted to find witnesses at the scene, a 16-year-old male admitted himself into Saint Johns hospital with a single gunshot wound to the leg. Investigators from Major Crimes and the Sheriff’s Gang Unit responded to take over the investigation. An initial investigation found that earlier in the day, 24-year-old Liliana Aguilar drove her two infant children and the 16-year-old shooting victim to the 2600 Blk of Eucalyptus. The 16 year old intended to paint over rival gang graffiti that was in the area. Aguilar parked her car near the rival gang graffiti where the 16 year old began to paint over it. The 16 year old was confronted by at least two armed rival gang members. During the confrontation, several rounds were fired at the victim, one of which struck him in the leg. During the Investigation, gang investigators arrested Aguilar for a variety of offenses including Conspiracy, Street Terrorism, and Child Endangerment. She was booked into Ventura County Jail where she posted $85,000 bail. She remains out on bail awaiting trial. Gang Investigators quickly identified two possible suspects in the shooting. Investigators had enough evidence to show that Anthony Mendez and Julio Hurtado were both present during the shooting, but were unable to establish what their role was. On 11-29-2010, detectives surveiled Mendez as he sold a sawed off .22 cal. rifle to 31 year old Joe Rivas. Rivas was on parole for robbery at the time. Investigators recovered the rifle that same day and arrested Mendez for the illegal transfer of a firearm two weeks later. On 12-4-2010, Hurtado was arrested by gang investigators for an outstanding warrant and booked at the Ventura County jail. For the next two months, investigators interviewed numerous witnesses and served several search warrants. During one of the search warrants, they recovered a .45 cal. handgun that was used in the shooting. The second handgun was never recovered. On 2-19-2011, investigators had obtained enough evidence to show that Hurtado and Mendez were both responsible for shooting at the 16-year-old victim. They arrested both Hurtado and Mendez for attempted murder and street terrorism. Both had been in custody since their respective December arrest. Hurtado remains in custody on $505,000 bail. Mendez remains in custody on $500,000 bail. Location: 2600 Blk Eucalyptus Drive, Oxnard, Ca. |
