Teen Found Guilty in Restaurateur’s Death

A Superior Court judge has found a teenager guilty of first-degree murder in the shooting last June of popular Ventura restaurateur Felipe Arambula.

Judge Vincent O’Neill found William David Hampton Jr., 19, guilty of the slaying as well as attempted kidnapping, residential burglary, false imprisonment, and assault with a stun gun.

Hampton faces a maximum term of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole when he is sentenced in May.

Hampton, of Casitas Springs, waived his right to a jury trial.

That left the question of guilt to O’Neill, who based his decision on evidence presented at a preliminary hearing.

Prosecutors believe Hampton was the gunman in a bungled attempt to kidnap the 35-year-old Arambula, owner of Taqueria Vallarta restaurant, from his expensive home on Monte Vista Avenue on June 13.

The motive for the kidnapping attempt is unclear.

Authorities said Hampton and two other men, Jose Vazquez and Manuel Vasquez, detained Arambula’s wife in the couple’s bedroom for hours until Arambula returned. When he did, he struggled with his attackers and was shot six times.

Jose Vazquez, 37, of Camarillo is in jail awaiting a jury trial set to begin May 18. Manuel Vasquez remains at large, authorities said.

The district attorney’s office could have pursued the death penalty for Hampton, because the slaying was committed during the commission of a felony--attempted kidnapping and residential burglary--but prosecutors decided against it.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Robert Calvert said prosecutors will be content to see Hampton spend the rest of his life in prison.

“I think the sentence he will get is an appropriate one given the facts of this case,” Calvert said.