Restaurant Owner’s Killers Still At Large

Hunting for the killers of a popular downtown restaurant owner, police detectives fanned out across Felipe Arambula’s east Ventura neighborhood Monday to interview witnesses and searched his house for evidence.

Arambula, 35, died late Saturday in what police described as a home-invasion robbery turned deadly.

Two or three men apparently pried open a back window of Arambula’s upscale hillside house, climbed inside, then held Arambula’s wife and two young children captive, authorities said. The intruders demanded to know when Arambula would return from work at the Taqueria Vallarta restaurant, authorities said.

When Arambula walked inside, the men chased him into the master bedroom, authorities said. He died after being shot several times in the chest, according to an autopsy report released Monday.

The suspects were still at large. A leaflet handed out by police to residents on Monte Vista Avenue and nearby streets offered descriptions of two men: an 18- to 25-year-old Latino in a white shirt and light blue jeans, and a Latino in dark clothes. A third man may also have been involved, police said.

Authorities have not said what, if anything, was stolen in the incident.

They offered few other details, saying only that a team of detectives was working the case full time.

“It’s the whole bureau, 10 to 15 investigators,” Ventura Police Lt. Carl Handy said.

Police would not say whether they believe the assailants knew Arambula or what their motives might have been.

The victim’s wife, Yazmin Arambula, and their two children, ages 3 and 1, were not injured. They are staying with relatives, police said.

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Neighbors and restaurant patrons puzzled over the killing, saying they cannot understand why the friendly young restaurateur had been targeted.

Bob Gregorchuk called the Arambulas ideal neighbors. He said they moved to the wealthy neighborhood overlooking the Pacific more than a year ago, politely introducing themselves before settling in.

“I knew him on a first-name basis,” Gregorchuk said as investigators walked in and out of the Arambulas’ house across the street. “They were fine neighbors, the kind you’d want to be neighbors.”

Meanwhile, patrons at Taqueria Vallarta recalled an outgoing man who worked hard to develop a loyal clientele. The restaurant, crowded with customers and television news crews Monday, had steady business all day.

“It shocks me, because he didn’t seem to have any problems,” said Vincent Lucero, drinking a soda at one of the restaurant’s outdoor tables.

“He cooked, and served the tables,” said Lucero, who works at a thrift store next door. “He wasn’t just a businessman, he was just like one of the workers. He didn’t pull rank just because he owned the place.”

Restaurant employees said Arambula’s brother was expected to arrive Monday to run the business for the family.

“He was a good person, a good boss,” said Yesenia Bracamontes, a worker at the restaurant for about a year. “He treated me well. But outside of the office, I don’t think we knew him very well.”

Times staff writer Miguel Bustillo contributed to this story.