Roofer Identified as Gunshot Fatality

Authorities on Saturday identified a Port Hueneme man found dead from gunshot wounds to the chest as Ramiro Mendoza, a 33-year-old roofer.

Mendoza is the city’s first slaying victim this year, Deputy Coroner Dale Zentzis said.

Police have no leads on who may have killed the roofer, who was on disability because of an accident on the job, said Sgt. Fernando Estrella, a Port Hueneme detective in charge of the case.

“This is a real whodunit right now,” Estrella said. “At this point there are not any indications that it’s gang or drug-related. However, we’re not discounting anything. We don’t have a whole lot of leads.”

Mendoza’s ex-girlfriend, Isabel Chavez, 22, discovered the body Friday afternoon after friends asked her to check on him when he did not answer the door in his ground-floor apartment in the 800 block of Jane Drive.

She discovered his front door slightly ajar, the television on and Mendoza’s body slumped inside a closet.

Neighbors said they had heard gunshots Thursday evening but did not call the police.

Mendoza is survived by a sister, Maria Lisa Mendoza Chavez, of Earlimart, Calif., officials said.

His body is being shipped to Michoacan, Mexico, for funeral services, said Robert Garcia, owner of Garcia Mortuary in Oxnard.