Ventura : Patrols Stepped Up After 2 Stabbings

Ventura police said Friday they were stepping up surveillance in the Ventura Avenue area after two consecutive nights of violence. The early morning stabbing Friday of two men at Westpark Recreation Area came one night after a man was shot to death nearby.

Officers responding to a report of a fight shortly after 2:30 a.m. found Anthony Ortega, 18, lying unconscious in the 100 block of W. Mission Street. Ortega suffered four stab wounds in his back, police said. Three hours later, police found Jose Olvera, 30, nearby, also suffering from stab wounds.

Police did not disclose the extent of Olvera’s injuries. Both were taken to Ventura County Medical Center and were listed in fair condition Friday.

Investigators said there is no indication that the stabbings were related to the fatal shooting late Wednesday of Alfonso Garza Sanchez, 24. He was shot and killed in an alley near Flint and Olive streets, about nine blocks from the stabbings.

Police have released few details about the shooting or the victim. County Municipal Court records show that he was charged in November with selling marijuana from a supermarket on Victoria Avenue, where he was a meat cutter.