2 Ventura Teens Surrender in Fatal Stabbing

Two Ventura teens have surrendered to police in the fatal stabbing last month of a Moorpark man and the serious injury of his friend, authorities said Wednesday.

Robert “Robby” Don Imes Jr. and Vincent “Ryan” Gatica, both 19, have been jailed on suspicion of murder and attempted murder in the July 21 slaying of Robert Louis Bankson and an assault on Joseph Morgan, police said.

Charges had not been filed against either teen as of Wednesday afternoon, police said.

Police said they zeroed in on the pair about two weeks ago and repeatedly interviewed their families, friends and witnesses to encourage surrender, Police Sgt. Bob Anderson said.

A composite sketch of one suspect and descriptions of both assailants published in newspapers also prompted several phone tips, some of which pertained to Imes and Gatica, Anderson said.

Anderson said that while neither man has a criminal history of violence, police have had contact with both on minor cases in the past. He would not elaborate.

“There are no winners here, everybody lost,” Anderson said at a press conference to announce the arrests.

Imes, an Ojai Valley native whose last job was on an off-shore oil rig, turned himself in at the police station about noon Wednesday, authorities said. He was being held without bail, and police say they believe he is responsible for the stabbings.

Bankson, a 24-year-old Moorpark College student, and Morgan, a 22-year-old Oxnard resident, were attacked in the early morning outside the Villa Laurel Apartments in midtown Ventura where they had attended a party, police said.

Bankson died on a sidewalk from stab wounds to his back and eye, while Morgan staggered to a convenience store, where a doctor there administered first aid to his chest wounds. Morgan is recovering at home after a lengthy hospital stay, police said.

“It is apparent Mr. Imes took a very aggressive approach to these victims,” Anderson said. “Everyone who was at the location that night was stabbed.”

In what Anderson described as a “stabbing frenzy,” Imes allegedly stabbed both victims repeatedly and also inflicted stab wounds to himself and Gatica. Imes suffered deep cuts to his right hand and had surgery at a local hospital July 30, which police were notified of, Anderson said.

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Imes was interviewed by police but released because of lack of evidence, Anderson said.

Gatica, who suffered a stab wound to his arm, surrendered about 6 p.m. Tuesday after meeting with police last week, his attorney, David Patrick Callahan, said.

Gatica remained jailed Wednesday night in lieu of $250,000 bail and is scheduled to be arraigned this afternoon. That arraignment could be delayed up to four days while prosecutors decide whether to file charges, Callahan said.

“From the facts as I know them, Ryan Gatica has committed no crime,” Callahan said, describing his client as a nonviolent person.

Gatica is a former Ventura High School student who competed on the wrestling team. He met Imes through mutual friends, police said.

Imes is a former student at Nordhoff High School and Chaparral Continuation High School in Ojai.

Imes’ attorney, Barry O. Bernstein of Tarzana, said, “I want to see the charges, and I want to see the police reports” before talking about the case.

Police say Imes and Gatica are part of a close-knit circle of friends who like to party and that some sport closely shaved heads and tattoos of Aryan Nation symbols, Anderson said.

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Neither teen has been linked to an organized gang but at least two detectives remain on the case full time researching claims by informants that the group the teens allegedly belong to is prone to violence, Anderson said.

On the morning of the slaying, Anderson said, the victims left the party and were walking from the apartments on Laurel Street toward the beach. Imes, who lived with a roommate in an apartment about a block away, trailed the victims and started a fist fight, police said.

Bankson and Morgan tried to calm Imes before wrestling him to the ground, said police, adding that Gatica, who apparently had been with Imes at his apartment earlier, came upon the incident and freed Imes. The victims were then repeatedly stabbed, police said.

The motive for the fight is unclear but police believe the assailants had a problem with the “hippy” appearance of the victims, both of whom had attended a Phish concert earlier that evening at the county fairgrounds.

The suspects also attended the same concert but had no contact with the victims there, Anderson said. The knife used in the attack has not been recovered and police said they are still investigating whether alcohol or drugs were involved.