Shooting Victims in Good Condition; 3rd Suspect Sought

Two shooting victims injured during a four-city crime spree were in good condition Sunday evening, hospital officials said.

Linda Williams, 45, of Port Hueneme underwent surgery at St. John’s Regional Medical Center on one of her wrists Sunday after she was shot several times Friday.

Williams was shot by a small-caliber handgun in her upper body and arm around 10:40 p.m. while she walked between condominium buildings in the 2500 block of Anchor Avenue in Port Hueneme.

Police believe that three men responsible for shooting Williams also shot a 19-year-old Santa Paula man.

That victim, whom police would not identify, was also in good condition at Santa Paula Memorial Hospital on Sunday after being shot in the chest. He had been standing on a lawn with a friend in the 700 block of Santa Paula Street when a van drove by and those inside began shooting.

Police arrested two Oxnard 18-year-olds believed to be gang members, Michael John Soto and Thomas Edward Santiago. Santiago had originally told police that his name was Erick Bernal, authorities said.

But after hearing news reports with his name mentioned in connection with the crimes, the real Bernal went to the Santa Paula Police Department on Sunday to report that his identification had been stolen several months ago. Since then, someone else had assumed his identity, police said. Working with Oxnard police and the Sheriff’s Department, Santa Paula police figured out Santiago’s true identity.

Santiago and Soto were still in custody in Ventura County Jail on Sunday on $100,000 bail each. A third suspect in Friday’s crime spree is still being sought by police.

The men were arrested on Friday after a brief, high-speed pursuit in Santa Paula and jailed on suspicion of attempted kidnapping, robbery, carjacking, hit-and-run driving and evading arrest. Attempted-murder charges are also expected to be filed.

The crimes began about 7:30 p.m. Friday when a van, which matched the description of the one in the Santa Paula shooting, was stolen from a driveway in the 700 block of Pearson Road in Port Hueneme.

Besides the shootings in Santa Paula and Port Hueneme, Santiago, Soto and an accomplice are believed to be linked with the Friday night robbing of a pizza deliveryman in Ventura and the theft of a Honda in Oxnard, police said.