OXNARD : Man, 25, Charged in March Killing

Prosecutors on Tuesday charged a 25-year-old Oxnard man with murder, two weeks after police say the defendant forced his way into a Helm Drive home in that city and shot another man who had been sleeping.

An arraignment for Joseph Leon Samuels was postponed until April 25. At the request of a prosecutor, Ventura County Municipal Judge John E. Dobroth doubled Samuels’ bail to $500,000.

Anthony Pech was slain about 2:30 a.m. in his home in the 1800 block of Helm in a quiet, middle-class neighborhood near Channel Islands Harbor.

Police said at least two people drove up to Pech’s house. Samuels then got out of a car, broke down the side gate and went around the back to an enclosed patio, where Pech and his girlfriend lived.

The gunman shot Pech after a brief struggle. Police say they have not ruled out a drug connection in the slaying. But on Tuesday, Deputy Dist. Atty. Peter D. Kossoris would not discuss a possible motive.

The prosecutor said he requested the bail increase in part because Samuels is a gang member. Kossoris also said he believes the defendant and the victim knew each other--a statement that Deputy Public Defender Gary Windom said was not true. Windom declined further comment on the case.