Cab Driver Is Shot in Robbery Attempt

An Oxnard taxi driver was recuperating in a hospital Thursday after being shot by a passenger the night before.

Omar Leon, 36, was shot about 11 p.m. Wednesday during an attempted robbery at the Los Arbolitos apartment complex in the 200 block of West Vineyard Avenue.

Leon was hit at least once in the chest and once in the arm, according to paramedics who responded to the scene. He was taken to St. John’s Regional Medical Center, where he was treated.

On Thursday, he was transferred to Ventura County Medical Center for surgery to remove a bullet from his body, a hospital spokeswoman said. Leon was listed in serious but stable condition at the hospital, a spokeswoman said.

Just after 10 p.m., Leon was called to pick up a man at a mobile home park, said Oxnard Police Det. Ken Kent. The man asked Leon to take him to an address in south Oxnard, but before arriving he asked him to stop at the Los Arbolitos apartment complex, Kent said.

Leon drove into a lot behind the apartment complex, and the man asked him to park in a carport.

The man drew the gun, Leon tried to grab it, and several shots were fired as they struggled over it, Kent said. Leon staggered out of the car wounded, and the gunman fired at him again before running away, Kent said.

Using his dispatch radio, Leon called for help.

Leon gave a brief description of his assailant: a black man, about 22 years old, 5-foot-8 or 5-foot-9, with a slender build, a slight mustache and a long, dark-colored jacket.

Anyone with information on the robbery and shooting is asked to call Kent at 385-7660 or Det. Chris Orsini at 385-7665.