College Student Shot in the Head Dies

A 19-year-old Oxnard College student has died after being shot in the head in front of his girlfriend, police said.

Dondre Baker was shot about 5:30 p.m. Friday as he was installing a stereo in his girlfriend’s car, which had been parked in front of Baker’s home in the 400 block of Helena Way, authorities said.

Police said they are seeking three males with shaved heads between 15 and 18 years old for questioning.

After hearing the girlfriend scream, neighbors say they called emergency personnel, who responded and treated Baker as he lay next to the car.

Baker had no pulse when he arrived at St. John’s Hospital in Oxnard and was placed on a ventilator, Oxnard Police Det. Joe Chase said. Baker died early Saturday after the ventilator was removed, police said.

“Dondre was really smart, creative and had a lot of friends. He had a lot going for him,” his mother, Deborah Baker, said.

For the past five years, Baker had lived with his mother, step-father Jerome Pruitt, 9-year-old brother Anthony and 14-year-old sister Cherine in a first-floor apartment on Helena Way, near Pleasant Valley Park.

Deborah Baker said her son had attended Hueneme High School in Oxnard and enjoyed basketball. Although he didn’t graduate, she said Baker had recently finished a semester at Oxnard College, where he studied art, math and physical education.

Baker was recently hired as a sales associate at a Reebok outlet store in Camarillo, she said. And last year, the mother said, he began dating a 19-year-old Ventura College student who lives in Fillmore. Her name has not been released.

Police are not releasing information on a motive, but Deborah Baker said she believes the killing could have been retaliation for a fist fight in high school and another argument a couple of months ago that involved her son.

A neighbor whose husband was an eyewitness said three males walked up to the car Baker was working on and exchanged words with him before one fired what sounded like a small-caliber handgun.

Police denied reports the shooting may have been related to gang activity or graffiti. Deborah Baker said her son was not a gang member.

“He was a good guy, and he and his girlfriend seemed happy and always enjoyed themselves,” she said.

Another neighbor, 15-year-old Ray Aspuria, said he was watching television in his room when he heard a popping noise and then screams.

“At first I thought it was the backfire of a car,” he said.

Memorial services have not yet been planned, the family said. Outside Baker’s home Saturday night, a dozen friends and neighbors gathered around a candle placed at the shooting site.