The Oxnard Rampage : Victims All Worked to Help Others : Profiles: Anna Velasco, Phillip Villegas and Richard Bateman--who died in line of duty--devoted themselves to serving the less fortunate.

For both Anna Velasco and Phillip Villegas, working at the Oxnard unemployment office was more a mission than a job.

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For Richard Bateman, visiting the agency was part of his work with a nonprofit group that helps the developmentally disabled.

Like Police Officer James E. O’Brien, all three died in the line of duty.

When unemployed engineer Alan Winterbourne moved through the Oxnard office of the state Employment Development Department randomly blasting his 12-gauge shotgun, he killed three individuals devoted to helping people less fortunate than themselves.

And he wounded four others, including Catherine Stinson, a Port Hueneme resident who was shot in the legs and remained in critical condition at Ventura County Medical Center late Friday.

Of the other three injured in Thursday’s rampage, Bonnie Smith of Camarillo and Darlene Provencio of Oxnard were both released from the hospital Friday. Irma Lopez, wife of Oxnard Mayor Manuel Lopez, remained in fair condition in the intensive care unit at St. John’s Regional Medical Center in Oxnard.

Except for Bateman, all six of the shooting victims worked at the busy Oxnard unemployment office.

Velasco and Villegas were two of the best-liked workers there, co-workers said Friday.

“It’s just like the Lord took the best people right there,” co-worker George Valle said. “If you had to put it to a personality contest, those were the two.”

Velasco began working for the jobs agency 12 years ago.

Soft-spoken and big-hearted, she poured herself into her work.

“She saw her work not just as work but as a real ministry,” said Father Norm Supancheck, priest at St. Francis of Assisi Church in Fillmore, where Velasco was a guild president. “She’d come back so tired at the end of the day.”

Despite the frustrations of the job and frightening threats from disgruntled clients, Velasco, 42, made a point of treating every person who came to the agency with respect, said a co-worker from the unemployment office who asked not to be identified.

Sometimes a farm worker would come to the office straight from the field, his clothing grimy with mud, the co-worker said.

“She just treated him as if he had been wearing a white shirt and tie.”

Velasco was known around Fillmore for helping Spanish-speakers cut through red tape in applying for housing assistance and social services, family members said.

But her first allegiance was to her family.

“It was home, work, then church,” said Carlos Vargas, Velasco’s younger brother.

Velasco lived with her husband, Salvador, in an apartment adjoining the home of her father, Pedro Vargas, 63.

Although the Velascos had no children, she was close to the three young children of her brother and treated her 20-year-old cousin, Ingrid Aldava, as if she were a daughter.

Sitting with other family members in the cluttered but cozy kitchen at Pedro Vargas’ home, Aldava said she and her relatives are still trying to come to grips with Velasco’s sudden, senseless death.

Turning her head toward the open front door, Aldava said, “I keep expecting her to come in.”

Although she was still trying to absorb the reality of Velasco’s death Friday, Aldava said her shock was turning to anger. “She didn’t deserve it. She was special.”

Velasco was beneath her desk when she was shot in the abdomen. She died of her wounds at St. John’s Regional Medical Center.

Like Velasco, Villegas, 43, of Oxnard, viewed his work at the unemployment office as more than just a job.

Two years ago, he found out what it felt like to be unemployed after he was laid off from a sales position. And he discovered firsthand how confusing it could be to apply for benefits and seek help in landing a new job.

So he volunteered to launch an information booth at the front counter, said his wife, Karen.

The agency accepted his offer and four months after he began volunteering, Villegas was put on the payroll.

Co-workers said Villegas was known for his playful sense of humor and readiness to learn new tasks.

“He was like an angel sent to us,” Valle said. “When he walked into the room, you could tell the atmosphere changed. He was a friend to everyone.”

Villegas’ compassion was also evident in the work he did outside the office.

He recently participated in a volunteer effort to get the county’s homeless veterans off the streets, during which he persuaded a handful of local businesses to donate clothes and other supplies to the veterans, Valle said.

At the unemployment office, Villegas worked at the front counter, sometimes serving as an interpreter for clients who spoke only Spanish.

He was translating for a client at the counter when Winterbourne walked in Thursday and began firing.

“I saw the guy come up with the gun and aim it down the path of the counters where everybody was standing, and he let the first shot go,” said Valle, who said he was about 15 feet from Villegas at the time.

Shot in the back, Villegas was one of the first hit. He died instantly, his wife said. In addition to his wife, he is survived by daughter Lisa Villegas and son Phillip Jr., both of Oxnard, and one granddaughter.

Three of the four who were injured Thursday--Provencio, Smith and Stinson--were also standing at the counter when Winterbourne opened fire, Valle said.

Bateman, 65, a Ventura resident, was a jobs coach for the nonprofit Assn. of Retarded Citizens of Ventura County. The Oxnard unemployment office was one of about a dozen places where Bateman took developmentally disabled clients to test their abilities at different jobs.

A native of Philadelphia who had attended the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, Bateman served in the Marine Corps during the Korean War and was at one time stationed at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, said his wife, Lois.

Throughout his life, Bateman worked at a variety of jobs, including teaching, opening new retail stores and managing rental properties. For seven years, he worked for a property management firm that owned 300 housing units in Oxnard and Ventura. He was hired part time at the Assn. for Retarded Citizens last fall.

“He didn’t want to just retire,” association director Fred Robinson said. “He liked to be involved in the community.”

His wife, who teaches at the private Friends School in Ventura, said Bateman believed that he could use his wide-ranging business experience to help developmentally disabled adults. “He figured that somewhere along the line, these people could be useful citizens. They just need a lot of patience.”

Bateman was in the main part of the office when he was hit. He died of multiple gunshot wounds.

In addition to his wife, he is survived by three grown children--Carol Hartnett of Newbury Park, and Karen Bateman and Richard M. Bateman Jr., both of Ventura, and two grandchildren.

Services for the Victims James E. O’Brien--A Rosary for James E. O’Brien will be said at 7 p.m. Monday at St. Mary Magdalen Church, 2532 E. Ventura Blvd., Camarillo. A funeral Mass will follow at 10 a.m. Tuesday. He will be buried at Santa Clara Cemetery in Oxnard.

Anna F. Velasco--A vigil will be held at 7:30 p.m. Monday for Anna F. Velasco at St. Francis of Assisi Church, 1048 Ventura St., Fillmore. A funeral Mass will be held at St. Francis at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday. Skillin-Carroll Mortuary in Fillmore is in charge of arrangements.

Phillip Villegas--Visitation for Phillip Villegas will be from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday at James A. Reardon Mortuary in Oxnard. A Rosary will be said at 7 p.m. Monday at the mortuary. Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Tuesday at Santa Clara Church, 323 S. E St., Oxnard.

Richard Bateman--A memorial service for Richard Bateman will be held at 3 p.m. Tuesday at Ted Mayr Funeral in Ventura, 3150 Loma Vista Road.