Oxnard Man Killed After Dispute

An Oxnard man walking on a quiet residential street on Friday night was stabbed several times and killed by an assailant who fled in a light-colored compact car, police said Saturday.

Michael Angel Newman, 27, died at St. John’s Regional Medical Center in Oxnard shortly after being attacked about 5:30 p.m. in the 600 block of West Fir Avenue, said Oxnard Police Sgt. Jim Seitz.

Newman and a friend were walking when the assailant pulled up, got out of the car and briefly argued with Newman before stabbing him, Seitz said.

Authorities said a second man may have been in the vehicle.

They released no information about the suspect or what Newman’s friend may have seen. The motive for the killing was unknown, but authorities do not believe the attack was gang-related.

Detectives were asking anyone with information about the crime to call them at 385-7606, or at the Police Department’s hotline at 982-7070.

The crime marked the city’s 19th homicide this year and the 37th in the county, according to Ventura County coroner’s officials.

In 2002, Oxnard logged a total of 11 homicides and the county had 23.

The latest case appeared to be Oxnard’s 18th homicide of the year, but coroner’s officials said Saturday that an earlier death has been ruled a homicide.

On July 26, 67-year-old Woodrow L. Lloyd died as a result of injuries he sustained in a scuffle last September in Oxnard. Lloyd, who lived in Oxnard, had been drinking at a bar called the Rudder Room when he took a swing at a bartender, who in turn pushed Lloyd away, authorities said.

The push caused Lloyd to fall and hit his head on the floor. He was hospitalized in a coma and later suffered respiratory failure as a result of problems with his trachea, according to coroner’s officials.

The district attorney’s office was reviewing the case to determine whether to file charges. Cases in which a person dies at the hands of another are technically considered homicides even if no one is charged.

Friday’s fatal stabbing was the third homicide in Oxnard in less than two weeks. On Sept. 7, Augustine David Medina, 20, of Oxnard, and Gilberto Gutierrez Hernandez, 19, of Somis, were both shot in the chest at a backyard birthday party. There have been no arrests, but authorities believe the killings were gang-related.

In response to the rise in fatal violence in the city, police have vowed to continue to work closely with anti-gang organizations and have increased the visibility of officers in areas where gangs are known to operate, Chief Art Lopez said recently.