Oxnard School Trustee Released in Shooting

Police on Monday released Oxnard school board member Fred Judy from jail, saying they lack evidence to charge him in the shooting of a 56-year-old man outside an Oxnard bar last weekend.

Assistant Police Chief Tom Cady said Judy was released because detectives were not able to charge him with attempted murder.

“There isn’t sufficient evidence to charge Mr. Judy because of the conflicting testimony,” Cady said. “Our investigation is continuing.”

In an interview, Judy said he wanted to put what transpired Saturday outside The Shores restaurant and bar behind him.

But he refused to say if he fired the shots that wounded Donald Jones in the neck, as police had alleged.

“I want it to be over with and out of my life,” Judy said. “It’s devastated my life. I want to learn a lesson from this, and learn from my mistake.”

Despite spending two days in Ventura County Jail without being charged in the shooting, Judy, 54, said he had no criticism of the Oxnard Police Department and the investigation targeting him.

“It’s hard to explain,” he said. “The only thing I can say is they were doing their job. They did the best they could, and I have no hard feelings against them.”

*

Cady said detectives have received conflicting testimony about the shooting but would not say what those statements were or who made them.

“We have some conflicting statements as to exactly what went on,” Cady said. “So pending further investigation, until we talk to other witnesses, we will not be taking the case to the district attorney’s office until our investigation is finished.”

Police were concerned about letting an attempted-murder suspect loose, but the law gave them no choice, Cady said.

“There are always concerns when people are involved in an act of violence, but we have run into conflicting testimony,” Cady said. “We are under statutory obligations concerning the time we have to bring evidence to the court.”

Judy, one of the founders of the now-defunct Zoe Christian Center, has been an advocate for the homeless in the Oxnard area for years. In addition to his position as a trustee of the Oxnard Union High School District, Judy ran unsuccessfully for the City Council last year.

Jones, an Oxnard police officer during the 1960s and a licensed private investigator, was released from St. John’s Regional Medical Center on Saturday afternoon after being treated for a gunshot wound to the neck, officials said. He could not be reached for comment Monday.

Both men were regular patrons at the Harbor Boulevard bar where they got into an argument Saturday, police said. After the bar closed, police said, the argument spilled outside, Judy pulled out a handgun and shot Jones.

*

Judy was arrested at the scene on suspicion of attempted murder after being questioned by detectives following the shooting and was booked into Ventura County jail in lieu of $250,000 bail.

Friends and associates expressed shock at his arrest. School officials said they were seeking an attorney’s opinion in case any action should be taken against the board member.

By phone from his Oxnard Dunes home Monday, Judy said he needed time to think before commenting further.

“I’m not prepared to talk right now,” he said. “I have to talk to my friends and let them know I’m all right and decide what to do.”

Staff writer Fred Alvarez contributed to this story.