Oxnard Gunman Sought as His Victim Is Mourned

While friends and family of Roberto Calderon Leyva streamed past his open casket at an emotional memorial service Tuesday, Oxnard police sought to close in on the young gunman suspected in the killing.

Investigators combed the Lemonwood area of Oxnard on Monday night and again Tuesday, interviewing residents and seeking information that might lead them to the suspect.

The suspect--described by Oxnard police as a gang member with a criminal record--shot Leyva, 35, in front of his wife and two small children in a restaurant parking lot after the suspect accused the victim of staring at his female companion, witnesses said.

Meanwhile, detectives huddled with Ventura County prosecutors throughout Tuesday, compiling witness accounts and other evidence to secure a warrant for the arrest of the suspect, who authorities say is widely known in the Lemonwood area of south Oxnard.

“All of our officers have the information as to who he is,” police spokesman David Keith said. “They have his photo and we have 160 officers who have been briefed on his identity.

“If we come across him, we’ll pick him up,” Keith said.

Because there is not yet a signed arrest warrant, the suspect’s identity cannot be released, police said. A news conference announcing the warrant and updating the manhunt is set for this morning.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Roger Inman said the decision to withhold the suspect’s name was made by Oxnard police.

“We’re not in control of anything at this point in time,” said Inman, who is assigned to the case. “We haven’t seen any paperwork.”

Leyva was shot Sunday night in the parking lot of an Oxnard pizza parlor after encountering the suspect and a group of friends, who were also eating at the restaurant.

Witnesses and police said the suspect accused Leyva of making improper eye contact with a woman at the suspect’s table.

After a verbal exchange prompted the manager to ask them both to leave the restaurant, the gunman approached Leyva and shot him in the stomach as his wife and two young children looked on, police said.

A railroad worker who played professional soccer for years, Leyva died about 10 hours later at St. John’s Regional Medical Center in Oxnard.

The suspect and his sister fled the scene in a charcoal-gray pickup truck, which they abandoned about four miles away in Lemonwood before running off on foot, police said. Police arrested the sister for aiding a fugitive, but have not released her name.

Flower arrangements arrived throughout much of the morning Tuesday, as scores of Leyva’s friends and family dealt with the tragedy at a daylong visitation service at Garcia Mortuary in downtown Oxnard.

Leyva’s soccer team jacket was draped across his casket, as his wife, Susana, and the couple’s two children grieved and lingered at the front of the viewing room.

“We just wish this had never happened,” said Amelia Rangel, Leyva’s sister from Porterville. “He was such a nice man.”

Donations to the family are being accepted at Garcia Mortuary. A rosary service is scheduled for 8 o’clock tonight at Our Lady of Guadalupe church in Oxnard, with a Mass at 8 a.m. Thursday at the same church.

On Tuesday, friends and family members remembered Leyva as a gentle man who loved his family. Witnesses to the shooting said Leyva pushed his family to safety seconds before the gunman fired.

“He was trying to protect his family, like he knew something was going to happen,” said Esperanza Gonzalez, another of Leyva’s sisters.

Rangel said her brother, who was to begin training Monday in San Diego for his new position with Amtrak, was once the best goalie in Ventura County.

“His dream was to play in one of the World Cups, but he never made it,” she said. “His next dream was to see his son play in the World Cup.”

Those who knew him well said they could not understand what provoked the gunman to shoot Leyva.

“I don’t want the worst for him,” Rangel said of the suspect. “But I hope he knows the pain we’re going through.”