OXNARD : Oklahoma Fugitive Sought in Shootings

Detectives are seeking a 37-year-old fugitive from Oklahoma as the suspect in the killing of a 68-year-old woman in Carpinteria last week and the weekend shooting of an Oxnard man in Ventura.

Santa Barbara and Ventura detectives have launched a hunt for James Lindsey Martin of Tuttle, Okla., concentrating on the Ventura, Bakersfield, Indio and Palm Springs areas, but they say Martin may be trying to return to Oklahoma.

A warrant has been issued for Martin’s arrest on murder charges. He had fled Oklahoma while waiting to be tried on fraud charges that could have sent him back to prison for at least 20 years.

He is suspected of shooting Evelyn Hendrix, of Qualicum Beach, British Columbia, before dumping her body beside Casitas Pass Road in Carpinteria and taking her motor home, Santa Barbara deputies said Thursday.

Martin is also the suspect in a shooting that occurred Saturday in the parking lot of San Buenaventura State Beach. Lloyd Johnson of Oxnard said he had befriended a man driving a motor home with British Columbia license plates but the man shot him, grazing him in the neck.

The stolen motor home was found Monday at the Oxnard Airport, but the suspect did not return to it during a 24-hour stakeout.

Investigators followed telephone tips to Bakersfield, where they recovered property that belonged to Hendrix in the homes of Martin’s relatives, said Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Deputy Tim Gracey. Authorities did not say why they linked Martin to Indio and Palm Springs.

Martin had an extensive arrest record for forgery, theft and embezzlement in Oklahoma, Gracey said. He was also convicted of burglary, auto theft and forgery during the 1970s in California, mostly in the Ventura and Bakersfield areas, he said.

He had been released from the Oklahoma State Reformatory in February and was living in Tuttle while serving the remainder of a seven-year sentence for fraud in a pre-parole program. His sentence was not expected to be completed until December, 1992.

Earlier this year, Martin was arrested on another charge of fraud.

According to Oklahoma County Assistant Dist. Atty. Mark Davidson, Martin was caught trying to steal less than $100 from a hardware store by posing as an authorized contractor.

He was out of jail on his own recognizance and awaiting a Sept. 30 court date when he fled Oklahoma, Davidson said. He was reported missing Sept. 13.

Although Davidson described the latest offense as minor, he said Martin faced a possible sentence of 20 years to life because he was a felon still serving his sentence.

However, Martin had not displayed a violent history, Davidson said. “You think a guy like Martin will come back (to prison) when he runs a bad check, but I got sick to my stomach when I heard what he is accused of doing.”