VENTURA : Dead Man’s Injuries Under Investigation

A 36-year-old Ventura man who was found dead in his living room may have suffered fatal injuries during a robbery and beating 24 hours earlier, police said Tuesday.

Although coroner’s officials said Thomas Edward Shoop died of a ruptured spleen, they have not yet classified the death as a homicide pending further investigation.

“We’re out looking . . . to see if we can narrow down what he was doing in the period between the robbery and his death to see if anything else could explain the trauma and the injuries,” Sgt. Bob Anderson said.

The suspects in the robbery, Jose Luis Sanchez, 24, and Carlos Tapia Garcia, 34, both of Ventura, are being held in County Jail in lieu of $100,000 bail. They were booked on suspicion of robbery and are scheduled to appear today in Ventura County Municipal Court for arraignment.

Detectives are expected to confer with the district attorney’s office today about the possibility of filing additional charges against the two.

Shoop was robbed about 5 p.m. Sunday as he walked near Harrison and Olive streets in west Ventura. He told police that two men asked him for a cigarette, then offered to sell him rock cocaine. When he declined, they dragged Shoop out of sight, kicked him repeatedly and stole $15.

Lopez and Garcia, who matched the suspects’ descriptions, were arrested half an hour later when a patrol officer spotted them. Shoop identified them as his attackers, and officers recovered some cash from the men, police said.

Shoop was found dead about 6:30 p.m. Monday. A man selling magazine subscriptions went to Shoop’s door on West Center Street and saw a body in the living room.

Anderson said there were no signs of a struggle in Shoop’s living room. Shoop was medically disabled and had no relatives in Ventura, he said.