SANTA PAULA : Man Arrested, 2nd Sought in Killing

Police have arrested one man and are searching for another in connection with the fatal shooting of a Santa Paula man earlier this week, police said Friday.

Ventura County sheriff’s deputies arrested Raymond V. Curtis, 23, of Santa Paula, early Friday morning. Curtis and another man are suspected of fatally shooting 27-year-old Benicio Maldonado in a foiled robbery attempt.

Police believe that Curtis and the other man tried to rob several victims, including Maldonado, at gunpoint near the 1500 block of Texas Lane, a dirt road on the outskirts of Santa Paula, about 4:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Maldonado received a single gunshot wound to the heart inflicted by a small-caliber weapon, police said.

Police said Thursday that neighbors heard shots in the area but there were no witnesses to the shooting. Officers tried to revive Maldonado at the scene, but he was pronounced dead on arrival at Santa Paula Memorial Hospital, police said.