SANTA PAULA : Pair Arrested in Battering of Car

Police have arrested a female teenager and a Santa Paula man for allegedly ramming the car of a Ventura resident and hitting the vehicle with pipes Monday night, authorities said.

The female was taken into custody for allegedly using her vehicle to commit assault with a deadly weapon, said Ventura Police Sgt. Richard Cook. Police also arrested Santa Paula resident Frank Gomez, 18, for alleged battery.

The victim, Javier Ramirez, told police that the pair jumped out of their car in the parking lot at the Circle K market on Citrus Drive in Ventura and started hitting his car with a pipe. After Ramirez’s car stalled while he tried to escape, the female jumped into her car and rammed him “at least once, possibly twice,” Cook said.

Other assailants fled the scene, but police--who were called by a witness--were able to make the two arrests because the pair were unable to leave because of the damage their car sustained during the ramming--leaving the vehicle able to drive only in reverse, Cook said.

At a police lineup later that evening, Ramirez identified the suspects as being the pair who battered his car. Ramirez told police that he is not a gang member but that the suspects were members of a Saticoy gang, Cook said.

Police are continuing their investigation.