Fight Erupts Over Slain Woman’s Child : Custody: Allison Jordan’s mother was killed in a drive-by shooting. Her grandfather does not want the girl to live with her father, who denies belonging to a gang.

Less than three weeks ago, 18-month-old Allison Jordan came within a few feet of being hit in a drive-by shooting that took the life of her mother.

Now little Allison, who kisses her mother’s picture but doesn’t understand where she has gone, is at the center of a custody battle among relatives.

Jennifer Jordan, 20, was gunned down May 31 outside the Thousand Oaks home where she and Allison lived with the baby’s father, Gregory Figueroa, and his parents. Investigators said the shots, fired from a passing car, were intended for two gang members who were leaving the house on Houston Drive.

One of the .38-caliber bullets was later recovered from a ledge a few feet below the window of the room where Allison was sleeping, investigators said.

Now the baby’s grandfather, Charles T. Jordan, has hired a lawyer in an attempt to have custody awarded to Jamie Gregor, his other daughter. Gregor lives with her husband in Bakersfield and has cared for Allison since the shooting.

In court papers, the family asserts that the 23-year-old Figueroa associates with gang members and that they “do not want Allison to end up as Jennifer did.”

Figueroa, however, is fighting to get his daughter back.

“It is in my daughter’s best interests that she be immediately reunited with me,” he said in a statement filed with the court. Although he has acknowledged that he is friendly with gang members, he denied that he belongs to a gang.

On Wednesday, Ventura County Superior Court Judge Joe D. Hadden approved an agreement giving Figueroa weekend custody of Allison until a hearing is held on who will have permanent guardianship. Charles Jordan’s attorney, Stephen C. Reddy of Thousand Oaks, said the hearing will be held in four or five months, after court investigators look into the case.

Reddy said he and Figueroa’s attorney, Stephen L. Mitnick of Ventura, worked out the agreement at a five-hour session mediated by a court psychologist. Reddy said he still has concerns about the agreement but considers it the best he could get.

“In Ventura County, it’s real tough to take a child away from its parent, especially when he’s the only parent left,” Reddy said.

Under the agreement, Figueroa must not take Allison to the home where her mother was killed; he must not associate with gang members in the child’s presence, and he must not consume alcohol or drugs during her visits.

“We’re going to watch him closely,” Reddy said.

In court papers Figueroa said he has been Allison’s primary caretaker since her birth in December, 1989. He described himself as an unemployed carpenter who fed and cared for Allison while Jennifer worked part time and attended school.

He acknowledged signing a document giving custody to Jamie Gregor until a permanent guardianship hearing is held. But he said he intended for her to keep Allison only until after the funeral June 5. He went to court when Gregor and Charles Jordan refused to let him see his daughter, he said.

“They were extremely angry and in fact blamed Jennifer’s death on me, and said it was unsafe for a child to reside with me,” Figueroa said in the court papers. He said he has moved to an apartment in Simi Valley to “provide a safer environment” for his daughter.

Reddy said safety is the most important issue. He noted that after the shooting, Figueroa told The Times that Jordan had begged him in vain to give up his associations with gang members. “I figured something like this would happen sooner or later,” Figueroa said in the interview. Two men are awaiting trial in the slaying.

Another concern, Reddy said, is Figueroa’s longtime lack of employment. Reddy’s court filing cites “neglect to the child by Greg, lack of support for food for the child to eat and Greg’s refusal to work to provide for the child.”

Figueroa also has been charged with failing to pay child support to another woman who had a child by him, Ventura County Deputy Dist. Atty. O. Guy Frick said. In that case, he owes more than $5,000 and is scheduled to appear in court on Friday, Frick said.

Figueroa said in an interview that he is looking for a job. He said he does not owe the child support money and expects to prevail in that case. He said his lawyer advised him not to discuss either case.

Despite his concerns about Figueroa, Charles Jordan said he will help him take care of Allison on weekends if necessary. Under the agreement, Gregor will drive the baby to Jordan’s son’s house in Lancaster--a halfway point--and Figueroa will pick up the infant there.

“I will give him a ride if he can’t find one,” Jordan said. He said he is baby-proofing his home, taking a parenting class and seeing a psychologist for counseling.

“It’s been 30 years since I’ve had to change babies,” said Jordan, who is 55 and has been divorced for five years. He works at Northrop Corp.’s Newbury Park plant.

He said Allison has been “bright and cheerful, very happy” while staying with her aunt, who has two girls of her own, ages 1 and 5. “She kisses her mother’s picture, but she doesn’t know yet,” Jordan said. He added that Jamie Gregor, 26, bears a striking resemblance to her younger sister, which has made it easier for Allison to adjust.

Jordan said he does not want to exclude Figueroa from Allison’s life.

“We know that kids need to know that parents are around,” he said. “We just don’t like the idea of her being in harm’s way. . . . It repulses me that she would ever be a target.”