2 County Men Shot, 1 Fatally

An 18-year-old Oxnard man was found shot to death in his home and another man was wounded in an officer-involved shooting at Saticoy Park in two separate incidents, authorities said Saturday.

Joshua Pelaya was shot twice in the back of the head inside his family home on Glacier Avenue, police said. His stepfather found the body about 3:30 p.m. Friday, inside the front door.

His death brings to 14 the county’s homicide toll since the start of the year, a record-breaking pace, authorities say. There were 23 homicides in 2002.

Police said Pelaya apparently knew his assailant.

“There was no evidence that showed someone forced their way into the house and there were no signs of a struggle,” Oxnard Police Sgt. Jim Seitz said. “Whoever did this was probably someone who was invited in. Someone the victim was comfortable with.”

Authorities said some neighbors reported hearing gunfire several hours before Pelaya’s body was found but that no one had called police. No weapon was found, Seitz said.

Although Pelaya had run-ins with the law, police say, detectives are uncertain whether they played a role in his death. Authorities planned to interview Pelaya’s family and friends Saturday, Seitz said.

Little information about Pelaya was available but authorities confirmed he lived with his stepfather, mother and younger sister. His death is the sixth homicide this year in Oxnard.

In a separate incident about 8 p.m. Friday, a sheriff’s deputy shot Francisco Javier Arevalo, 34, when he refused to surrender while being chased on foot by authorities through Saticoy Park.

Arevalo, a Saticoy resident, was shot once in the upper right chest, authorities said. He was taken to Ventura County Medical Center, where his wound is not considered life-threatening, authorities said Saturday. The deputy who shot Arevalo is a four-year member of the department. He was placed on paid administrative leave, which is standard department policy.

Authorities said Arevalo’s shooting stemmed from a minor assault on another man. According to authorities, Arevalo, his ex-wife, Eva Morua, 34, and her aunt had met about 7 p.m. in the parking lot of a Ralphs grocery store on Telephone Road so Arevalo could pick up the couple’s children for a visit.

Arevalo and Morua argued in the parking lot before Arevalo entered the market and confronted Morua’s boyfriend, Derek Prater, 20, an employee at the store, authorities said.

“He shoved a shopping cart at the boyfriend and then told him he was going to kill him,” Ventura Police Lt. Skip Young said.

Morua’s boyfriend told police Arevalo had reached into his back waistband and thought he was going to pull out a gun. But he said no weapon was seen. More arguing ensued inside the store between Arevalo and Morua before Arevalo fled in his Ford Explorer with his 12-year-old son, Young said.

When officers arrived Morua told them that Arevalo often carried a loaded gun. But it was unclear if she knew whether he was armed when he left the store, police said.

About 7:40 p.m. Friday officers saw Arevalo speeding in eastern Ventura, authorities said. During the 20-minute pursuit, Arevalo stopped to quickly release his son and drove off before abandoning the vehicle near Saticoy Park and fleeing on foot.

As Ventura officers set up a perimeter around the park, sheriff’s deputies chased Arevalo.

Other than saying he refused to surrender, sheriff’s officials would not say what Arevalo did before being shot. No weapon was found, Sheriff’s Capt. Chris Lathrop said. The Sheriff’s Department will conduct an investigation to determine if the deputy followed procedures.