2 Men Fatally Shot in Oxnard

Separate shootings in Oxnard this week claimed the lives of a former Navy reservist and a fast-food worker, and detectives on Friday were investigating possible links to gang attacks that have gripped the city in recent weeks.

The shootings of 23-year-old Juan Ramirez Jr. and 25-year-old Steven Anthony Lemos occurred less than a mile apart Thursday night in north Oxnard.

They are the ninth and 10th homicides in the city this year.

“These were not random acts. There’s more to it than that, and we are trying to figure it out,” said Police Sgt. Bernie Schmalhofer.

Neither victim is a gang member, but authorities believe Ramirez may have had gang ties in his hometown of Bakersfield and that Lemos could have been mistaken for a gang associate.

No links have been established between the two cases.

As is common with street violence, details were sketchy because few witnesses were willing to talk to police.

Detectives know that Ramirez, the ex-reservist, was standing in a Circle K parking lot in the 1900 block of North Ventura Road when he was shot several times shortly before 8 p.m.

He staggered inside the store and yelled to cashiers to call 911 before collapsing. He died a short time later at St. John’s Regional Medical Center.

The fatal wound was caused by a .25-caliber bullet to the chest, according to Mike Feiler, a deputy coroner’s investigator.

Although still unconfirmed late Friday, Schmalhofer said detectives were looking into whether Ramirez argued with another man in the store parking lot before being shot.

Authorities have no description of the shooter.

About three hours later in a neighborhood a few blocks away, Lemos, a burger chain employee, was shot in an alcove outside his apartment in the 1900 block of North H Street.

Neighbors at the Del Ciervo Apartments said they heard someone pounding on Lemos’ front door about 11 p.m. and then heard three gunshots and then a woman, possibly his girlfriend, screaming hysterically.

Lemos died during surgery at a local hospital. He had been shot several times.

The cause of death was a 9-millimeter gunshot wound to the abdomen, said Mitch Breese, senior deputy medical examiner.

While there is no evidence connecting the two cases, authorities are trying to determine whether the killings are in any way related to the city’s ongoing gang warfare.

Since early August, detectives have responded to at least nine shootings and stabbings, of which at least five have been confirmed as gang-related acts.

In addition to Thursday night’s cases, the only other fatal shooting was that of Emilio Fernandez.

The 28-year-old Oxnard resident was gunned down Aug. 29 in an alley behind an apartment complex in the 5200 block of South J Street.

Little information was released about the victims in the most recent shootings.

Authorities said Ramirez had moved to the area from Bakersfield to work as a Navy reservist and was living with several roommates in Oxnard.

His parents live in Bakersfield and were making arrangements to bury him there.

A Navy spokeswoman confirmed that Ramirez had been a reservist but said he was discharged last year.

His only brush with the law appears to be a speeding ticket in May for which he paid a $203 fine.

At Lemos’ home, neighbors were reluctant to comment, most saying they knew little about the victim.

Authorities said his parents live locally and were arranging a service through an Oxnard funeral home.

The apartment complex, painted green and beige and landscaped with large trees, is usually a quiet place, neighbors said.

Lemos and his girlfriend and her young child usually kept to themselves they said.