OXNARD : Kidnaping Suspect, 14 Others Arrested

Fifteen people, including a kidnaping suspect, were arrested in an early morning raid Wednesday at a south Oxnard motel, police said.

More than three dozen officers from the Oxnard and Ventura police departments searched six motel rooms at the Crystal Lodge on South Oxnard Boulevard, looking for a man suspected of kidnaping another man two weeks ago, Oxnard police spokesman David Keith said.

Herbert Fisher, 28, described as a transient, was the target of the search warrant, but police raided all six rooms simultaneously because Fisher was known to inhabit all of the dwellings, Keith said.

Fisher “kidnaped a gentleman in Oxnard about two weeks ago, held him captive for three days and forced the guy to take him around various locations while he robbed them,” Keith said.

Keith would not say who the alleged victim was but said Fisher held him at gunpoint over three days while he engaged in “robberies, shoplifts, drug deals . . . dozens of things during those three days.”

The victim contacted police when he was released, and an investigation was launched, Keith said.

The adults arrested were booked on various charges, including possession of narcotics, being under the influence of narcotics and possession of various weapons, Keith said. Ten of those arrested, including Fisher, are Oxnard residents, one is from Ventura and one is from Port Hueneme. A juvenile also was taken into custody, and two other adults were released later pending further investigation, police said.

Police confiscated a shotgun, a sawed-off shotgun and three handguns in the raid, Keith said.

One officer suffered a minor injury to his hand during the search but was in good condition after being treated at the scene, Keith said.

Minor damage to the business was reported, including broken doors and windows. But a spokesman at the Starfire Foundation, which operates the motel, said the group had initiated the investigation.

“We alerted them to suspicious activity,” said foundation director Dr. Greg Stone. “This was nothing that caught us by surprise.”

The Starfire Foundation is an organization involved in converting low-rent motels into alcohol and drug rehabilitation clinics, Stone said.