OXNARD : 14-Year-Old Slaying Suspect Recaptured

A teen-ager suspected of slaying an Oxnard man has been charged with escaping from the Frank A. Colston Youth Center in Ventura, officials said Thursday.

The 14-year-old, whose name has not been released because of his age, was serving a 120-day sentence for auto theft and petty theft when he escaped on March 22, Ventura County Deputy Dist. Atty. Saundra Brewer said.

“It was during the time when they were being escorted to Juvenile Hall by a staff member that he escaped,” Brewer said. “He and a few other juveniles were being transported from the Colston Center to Juvenile Hall across the street for the night,” she said.

The teen-ager was caught Saturday by Oxnard police officers investigating the Jan. 27 shooting death of Carlos Arthur Martinez. The youth remains in Juvenile Hall.

Martinez, 29, of El Rio, was found in the 1300 block of Felicia Court in Oxnard’s Colonia district, shot twice in the torso.

The teen-ager suspected in the killing had not yet been sentenced on the theft charges at the time of the slaying. His 120-day sentence began on March 19.

Brewer said the district attorney’s office will not make a decision on whether to file homicide charges against the youth until next week. The escape charge, which was filed on Tuesday, carries a one-year sentence.