Countywide : Pair Sought in Shooting Arrested

An Oxnard-area girl and her boyfriend wanted in connection with the shooting of the girl’s mother in Oxnard were arrested Wednesday night in the San Francisco area after a police chase, authorities said.

The young couple, whose names were not released because they are minors, were apprehended around 9:30 p.m. after an extended pursuit by the Vallejo Police Department, Ventura County Sheriff’s Lt. Gary Cook said.

Police sought the pair after the shooting of the girl’s mother, Catherine Beverford, 34, of El Rio.

Beverford was shot four times in the head with a small-caliber weapon Sunday night while driving a van with her 13-year-old daughter and the daughter’s 16-year-old boyfriend in the back seat.

After the shooting, the couple dropped Beverford off at Ventura County Medical Center before disappearing in her van, police said.

None of the bullets penetrated Beverford’s skull, and she is no longer hospitalized, doctors said.

Vallejo police called Ventura County authorities Wednesday night as they pursued a van matching the description of Beverford’s vehicle and asked for a description of the juvenile fugitives, Cook said.

During the pursuit, which was assisted by the California Highway Patrol and the Fairfield Police Department, at least one shot was fired at the officers, who did not return the fire, he said.

The chase eventually ended and the pair were taken into custody without further incident, Cook said.