VENTURA : 12 Arrested After Downtown Beatings

Ventura police arrested 12 suspected gang members after a patrol officer spotted a group of people in downtown Ventura beating a man with bottles and pummeling two women, police said Friday.

Police arrested seven Ventura juveniles--five boys and two girls, three Ventura men and two Ventura women after the incident, which occurred near the intersection of Cedar and Poli streets about 11:45 p.m. Thursday, Ventura Police Sgt. Bob Velez said.

The unidentified male victim, who is from Oxnard, was beaten on the head several times with bottles. His two female companions, who are from Ventura, were pushed to the ground, where they were kicked and beaten, Velez said.

The three were treated by paramedics for various head wounds and other bruises, Velez said.

The arrested juveniles were taken to Clifton Tatum Center, Officer Lynette Lightfoot said.

Of the adults, Guillermo Munoz, 21, Heather Lee, 21, and Pasha Ruiz, 18, were cited and released, Lightfoot said. Salvador Flores, 18, was being held at the county jail Friday night in lieu of $5,000 bail.

Octavio Gutierrez, 18, was released from jail Friday after paying the same bail, a jail spokesman said.

Velez said the victims told police the suspected gang members had approached them to ask where they were from.

The victims told police they were attacked when the man answered that he was from Oxnard, Velez said. Velez said that the victims asked not to be identified because they are afraid of retaliation.