2 Youths Arrested in Man’s Fatal Shooting

Detectives arrested two juveniles Monday afternoon on suspicion of killing 24-year-old Cesar Garcia on Sunday.

Garcia was shot in the chest about 3:20 a.m. Sunday while talking with friends at an apartment complex in the 100 block of West B Street, said Port Hueneme Police Sgt. Jerry Beck.

Friends rushed him to St. John’s Regional Medical Center in Oxnard, where he died in the emergency room. Garcia’s friends left without talking to authorities.

Although investigators said they still do not have much information on the shooting, interviews Sunday and Monday led them to youths aged 16 and 17, said Lt. Ernie Estrella.

The two were being questioned late Monday and were expected to be booked into the Ventura County Juvenile Hall that night, Estrella said. Their names are being withheld due to their ages, he said.

Estrella added that his investigators expect to make more arrests in the case.

Garcia, whose last known address was the apartment on West B Street, had a few drug and petty theft convictions. Investigators “suspect that [the shooting] had something to do with gang activity,” Estrella said.

Detectives request that anyone with information on the shooting contact either Sgt. Beck at the Port Hueneme Police Department, 986-6534, or the Ventura County Crime Stoppers line at 385-TALK. Information may be given anonymously.

Crime Stoppers is offering a reward of up to $1,000 for information leading to an arrest and conviction in the shooting.