Man, 20, Arrested in Shooting Incidents

An Oxnard man spent Saturday night in Ventura County Jail following two shootings, one in Oxnard and one in Ventura, authorities said.

Oscar Lemus, 20, was arrested by Oxnard police officers about 11 p.m. Saturday after a security guard saw him firing a handgun into the air, said Ventura Police Sgt. Ken Corney. A car Lemus was standing near was being watched by the unidentified security guard because it matched the description of a vehicle involved in a possible gang-related shooting an hour earlier in Ventura, according to Corney.

In that incident, witnesses said the occupants of two cars shouted gang slogans, and someone fired several shots, police said. The shooting took place about 9:45 p.m. in a shopping center parking lot at Telephone Road and Petit Avenue.

Police searched the area but did not find anyone involved in the shooting, Corney said. The descriptions of the vehicles, blue and tan Cadillacs, were broadcast to officers and the security guard from Wilshire Protection heard the call.

While on patrol at Wagon Wheel Trailer Lodge in Oxnard, he saw a car matching one of those involved in the Ventura incident and called police. Several people were loitering near the car, and one of them pulled out a handgun and fired several shots into the air, according to Corney.

Oxnard police arrested Lemus a short time later, and a witness to the shooting in Ventura identified Lemus as the man who fired the gun in that incident, authorities said. No one was hurt in either incident.

Police found a small-caliber handgun at the scene of the Oxnard shooting, and Lemus was booked into jail on suspicion of three weapons violations, including possession and unlawful discharge of a firearm.

A jail spokeswoman said he posted bail Sunday afternoon and was being released. Police were continuing the investigation.