Man, 21, Arrested in Attack on Woman, 94

A 21-year-old man was taken into custody early Friday by the Ventura Police SWAT team on suspicion of punching a 94-year-old Ventura woman, breaking her jaw and cheek bone.

Edna Ledford suffered a black eye and other bruises in the Jan. 4 attack, authorities said.

Ledford had found Victor Ultreras in her home and ordered him to leave, authorities said. As she was escorting him to the door, Ultreras, who was friends with one of Ledford’s grandsons, turned around and punched her, authorities said.

“We don’t really know why he did it,” said Ledford’s granddaughter, Chris Dillard.

On Friday, Ledford was again examined by a doctor, but is recovering from the incident.

“She’s pretty strong,” her granddaughter said.

Ultreras, who has dozens of arrests on his record, was being held at the Ventura County Jail on suspicion of battery, causing great bodily injury, a police spokesman said.

Ultreras was arrested about 3 a.m. Friday, the spokesman said.

He had been spotted by sheriff’s deputies riding in a car with two other men about 11:30 p.m. Thursday, according to police. The two men were suspects in a home-invasion robbery that occurred Wednesday on McKee Street, north of the Ventura city limits.

After sheriff’s deputies stopped the car and tried to talk to the three men, Ultreras jumped out of the vehicle and ran into a home at 321 W. Barnett St. in Ventura, the spokesman said.

The home was surrounded and sheriff’s deputies tried to coax Ultreras out of the home using a bullhorn, the spokesman said. The deputies were informed that Ultreras was armed with a handgun and the Ventura Police Department SWAT team was called to the scene, he said.

By 3 a.m., Ultreras walked out of the home and surrendered to police, the spokesman said. Ultreras’ bail is set at $100,000.

Deputies also arrested the two men suspected in the home-invasion robbery, said Sheriff’s Capt. Keith Parks. A third accomplice was later arrested. Mark Torres, 21, Erick Jose Urvina, 19, and Chad Leslie, 25, all of Ventura are being held at the Ventura County Jail on suspicion of armed robbery. Each has their bail set at $50,000, Parks said.