CAMARILLO : 2 Arrested in Raids of 6 Youths’ Homes

Teams of sheriff’s deputies Wednesday searched the homes of six Camarillo teen-agers on probation, arresting two on suspicion of possessing a handgun or marijuana and seizing personal items described as gang paraphernalia, authorities said.

The early morning raids came in response to three violent crimes--two armed robberies and an assault--in Camarillo during the past month. Based on descriptions by witnesses and victims, detectives have identified several members of a Camarillo-based gang as suspects.

“We haven’t done much in Camarillo and maybe that’s why they’re starting to feel like they’re immune,” said Sheriff’s Sgt. Ken Warren.

In all, about 30 deputies and six probation officers took part in the raids. They arrested a 17-year-old on suspicion of possessing marijuana and a 16-year-old on suspicion of possessing a .32-caliber handgun.

The 17-year-old was cited and released; the 16-year-old was booked into juvenile hall.

Deputies also seized sweat shirts emblazoned with pictures of gang members and items covered with gang graffiti.

The two armed robberies occurred the first week in February. In the first, a man was accosted on a street by two teen-agers and robbed at gunpoint. In the second, two teen-agers, armed with a handgun, robbed a clerk at a food mart.

The assault took place the second week in January on Barry Street. A group of six or seven youths attacked three men with baseball bats and a tequila bottle. Two of the three victims were treated at a hospital.