Murder charges filed in Oxnard shooting case
Prosecutors filed charges Thursday against an Oxnard man arrested two days ago in connection with a fatal shooting in December.
The Ventura County District Attorney’s Office filed multiple felony counts, including murder, against Michael Anthony Ortega, 23.
Ortega was Oxnard police made the arrest Tuesday It follows a months-long investigation into the Dec. 5 shooting death of Oxnard resident John Carrillo, 20.
Police said the incident was gang-related but the victim was not a gang member. Rather, Carrillo was in the wrong place at the wrong time, said a sergeant with the Oxnard Police Department. The incident happened around 1 a.m. in the 1200 block of West Gonzales Road, where Carrillo died of a gunshot wound to the chest.
Ortega shot Carrillo with a sawed-off shotgun on Friday, prosecutors said. They described Ortega as a known gang member who ran into three other victims shortly before the fatal shooting.
More complaints
On Dec. 3, Ortega assaulted two men, believed to be members of a rival gang, in the parking lot of Camelot Rooms in Oxnard, when he allegedly fired a round from a sawed-off shotgun that failed to hit either man.
On the night of Carrillo’s murder, Ortega allegedly challenged another victim with a concealed shotgun, but did not fire during the altercation. Minutes later, he shot Carrillo, according to prosecutors.
Five days after the shooting, he was arrested by Oxnard police for allegedly having a loaded, sawed-off shotgun hidden in his pants and methamphetamine in his sock, the DA’s office said in a statement.
Ortega was already in the county jail for a separate incident when police arrested him in connection with the murder.
In addition to the murder charge, the indictment filed in Ventura County Superior Court includes multiple felony firearm charges and numerous special charges.
No plea was entered during an argument Thursday afternoon before Judge Nancy Ayers, court records show, during which Ortega was represented by the Ortega County Public Defender’s Office. Ayers granted the defense’s request to continue the arraignment until the afternoon of April 7.
Ayers also granted bail requests from prosecutors. The chief remained in the Ortega County Jail Friday.
This story may be updated.
This article originally appeared in the Ventura County Star: Manslaughter charges were filed in the Oxnard shooting in December
#Murder #charges #filed #Oxnard #shooting #case
