4 Girls Injured in Ventura County Gang Melee After Boyfriends Flee
Four teen-age girls from Thousand Oaks were assaulted with baseball bats in a park after the gang members they were with deserted them during an attack by a rival gang, authorities said Thursday.
The four girls, believed to be gang associates, suffered cuts and bruises at Stagecoach Inn Park in Newbury Park late Wednesday after their boyfriends apparently fled the scene, Ventura County sheriff’s deputies said.
The melee began about 11:15 p.m. when the attacking gang discovered the other gang at the park. After an exchange of gang slogans, the assailants attacked the girls and their companions, wielding baseball bats and wooden sticks, police said. A total of 30 to 35 juveniles were involved in the fracas.
A Thousand Oaks man, David R. Dixon, 22, was arrested at the scene on suspicion of child endangerment and obstructing emergency medical technicians. Dixon remained in custody at Ventura County Jail in lieu of $5,000 bail.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
