Of the 34 county homicides last year, only seven people were arrested on suspicion of murder. Oxnard again led the year with the most homicides, 18, a sharp drop from the previous year when 23 people were killed in acts which were mostly believed to be gang-related violence.Last year there were three homicides each in Ventura, Camarillo and Simi Valley, and two in Port Hueneme. Along with Santa Paula the cities of Fillmore, Moorpark and Newbury Park each had one homicide last year.Santa Paula was homicide free in 2001, and had three in 1999 and 2000 combined. During the mid-1990s there was a two-year period when there were no homicides that occurred in Santa Paula.
Santa Paula: One murder in 2004, VC murder rate falls to 34
January 05, 2005
Santa Paula News
Although 2003 was about the deadliest year in Ventura County for homicides, the overall murder rate plunged dramatically while Santa Paula had one homicide last year.
By Peggy KellySanta Paula TimesAlthough 2003 was about the deadliest year in Ventura County for homicides, the overall murder rate plunged dramatically while Santa Paula had one homicide last year. The lone 2004 Santa Paula homicide was half of the city’s murder rate of 2003, when two men were slain on the same night in killings following a party in The Oaks area. Santa Paula police believe that the double homicide was gang-related. In 2002 Santa Paula had six killings, a record high.In Ventura County there were 34 homicides last year, a sharp drop from the 49 killings that occurred in 2003, the highest in the county in nearly a quarter of a century. The 34 homicides that occurred last year were still considerably more than the 21 Ventura County homicides during 2002.Santa Paula’s homicide occurred on August 29 when Rafael Arreguin, 42, was found shot to death in the carport area of the Village Rose Apartments which he managed. Although the Santa Paula Police have a suspect, he fled the area and an arrest has not yet been made.