Angry Mob of Gang Members Swarms Through Downtown : Violence: Oxnard police arrest 15 on charges ranging from unlawful assembly and disturbing the peace to malicious mischief and assault.

An angry mob of teen-age gang members swarmed through downtown Oxnard, throwing bricks, breaking bottles and assaulting motorists before police broke up the crowd and made 15 arrests, authorities said Sunday.

Oxnard police said as many as 100 gang members wound their way from La Colonia to south Oxnard about 7:30 p.m. Saturday, threatening to fight rival gang members in the southern part of the city.

“They evidently had some booze during the day, and they decided they wanted to link up with some other gangs,” Oxnard Police Cmdr. Jamie Skeeters said. “This had the potential of being real nasty.”

Motorists and residents began calling police about 7:30 p.m., complaining about the mob, whose members, police said, were attacking drivers and scaring residents with baseball bats, sticks and other weapons.

The march started near Del Sol Park off Rose Avenue when the gang members made their way west across Oxnard Boulevard, Skeeters said. It continued without incident for several blocks heading south, until the youths began yelling obscenities and throwing bottles and rocks, he said.

“I had several residents call the watch commander’s office and ask if we were aware there was a group of people walking down the street,” Skeeters said. “But until they break the law, anyone can walk down the street.”

Three Oxnard police officers trailed the group for more than a mile, making sure that it remained composed, Skeeters said.

But when the mob approached a dance at Oxnard High School, school officials locked the doors of the gymnasium, Skeeters said. At that point, group members “became unruly” and more officers were called, he said.

“They made their first stand in the area of Channel Islands (Boulevard) and Ventura Road, right there by K mart,” Skeeters said. “The officers waited until they got to that position because they didn’t want to create a major disturbance in a residential neighborhood.”

Officers told group members to disperse based on an unlawful assembly ordinance, he said. But some of the young men began assaulting the officers.

“There were no serious injuries, but one officer got hit in the kneecap with a brick,” Skeeters said. “He went down, but he’s tough. He’s going to be all right.”

Another officer was bitten by one suspect, but was not seriously hurt, police said.

Fifteen people, including three adults, were arrested on charges ranging from unlawful assembly and disturbing the peace to malicious mischief and assault, Skeeters said.

The juveniles were released to the custody of their parents, and the adults were booked into the Ventura County Jail.

Merchants, customers and other witnesses said they became concerned by the large number of young people.

“I was thinking they’d try to break down the door and come in,” said K mart security guard Jesus Vargas, who locked the front door of the store for more than 30 minutes while police contained the scene. “If the cops hadn’t stopped it, they would have done whatever they wanted.”

Most of the youths were not arrested or cited because they vacated the area voluntarily, Skeeters said.

“There were really only 10 to 15 jerks,” he said. “Those were the ones who were really the rabble-rousers.”

Between 20 and 30 young men walked into Popeye’s Famous Fried Chicken & Biscuits at 2450 Saviers Road about 9 p.m., prompting concern among that restaurant’s employees.

“I gave them a couple of glasses of water, but then I told them they had to leave,” cashier Jacqueline Berumen said. “It was just me and my manager here.”

Skeeters said the incident could have turned much uglier.

“They just got pumped up and pumped up and got carried away,” he said.