OXNARD : Jury Find Man Guilty of 1st-Degree Murder

An Oxnard man accused of killing a Santa Barbara landlord in December was found guilty of first-degree murder Monday by a Ventura County Superior Court jury.

Jose Luis Arreguin, 20, also was found guilty of second-degree robbery with special allegations. He could receive life in prison without the possibility of parole when he is sentenced July 13.

Arreguin was convicted in the Dec. 1 shooting death of Richard Schell, a Santa Barbara landlord who was killed in Port Hueneme while he was parked in his car counting his rent receipts. Three other men have also been charged in connection with the crime.

While the Arreguin jury was deliberating Monday, jury selection was beginning in the case against Gilbert Martinez, the 16-year-old alleged gunman being tried as an adult. Another defendant, George Pena, 23, is scheduled to stand trial July 12, and a fourth man, David Lee Soto, 19, already has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the case.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Donald C. Glynn said the evidence pointed to a conviction.

“The jury did the right thing,” he said. “The evidence is real clear that this guy was involved in the robbery.”

Defense attorney Willard P. Wiksell said he was disappointed but not surprised by the jury’s verdict.

“I think Mr. Arreguin put himself in a position where a jury would think he was a participant in a crime,” he said. “He took the stand, the jury heard him and obviously they didn’t believe him.”