Citizens Patrol Helps Catch Suspects

Thanks to a citizens patrol group in Oxnard, two robbery suspects were arrested on suspicion of taking a man’s wallet at knifepoint, police said Saturday.

A Northridge man was sitting in his car behind a bookstore on east Vineyard Avenue when two men accosted him about 11 p.m. Friday, Oxnard police said.

One of the men put a razor blade-type knife to the man’s throat, while the other grabbed him by the head and demanded his money, police said in a prepared statement.

Although the victim gave up his wallet, the two men pulled him out of the car and one of them struck the Northridge man twice in the face before they fled, police said.

When members of the Sierra Linda Neighborhood Watch saw the suspects speed away, they called the Oxnard Police Department with a description of the suspects and the vehicle’s license plate number, police said.

Officer George Tamayo spotted the vehicle at C street and Gonzales Road and arrested Rene Paul Francisco, 23, and Jose Alberto Moreno, 18, both of Oxnard.

Oxnard police praised the local Neighborhood Watch group.

“Without them, we wouldn’t have been able to do it,” Cmdr. Joe Munoz said. “I think it’s a fine example of citizens helping police, being the eyes and ears of the neighborhood.”

James Witcher, chairman of the Sierra Linda Neighborhood Council, said he was pleased that the watch group, which was formed in June, helped the police.

“It makes me feel very good to know we were involved in apprehending a criminal,” Witcher said. “We don’t want them here.”