SANTA PAULA : 2 Men Are Arrested in Stabbing Death
Santa Paula police arrested two young men Thursday and were searching for two others in connection with the stabbing death of a 20-year-old man.
David Lovato was pronounced dead early Thursday morning at Santa Paula Memorial Hospital after being stabbed several times in the chest on the corner of Santa Barbara and Atmore streets, Police Cmdr. Mark Hansen said.
Danny Vasquez, 19, of Santa Paula was arrested and booked into Ventura County Jail on suspicion of murder, Hansen said, and David Salinas, 19, was booked on the same charge after turning himself in Thursday. They are being held in lieu of $250,000 bail each.
Hansen said Lovato and a friend were walking home along Santa Barbara Street at 11:53 p.m. Wednesday after drinking alcohol at a nearby park when four occupants of a passing 1964 Chevrolet yelled at them.
Salinas, driver of the car, made several passes before pulling over to confront the pedestrians, Hansen said.
Vasquez jumped out of the vehicle and stabbed Lovato several times, while a passenger in the car, who is still being sought by police, held Lovato’s friend at bay with a baseball bat, Hansen said.
Hansen said detectives were searching for a 17-year-old and for the car’s fourth occupant.
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