Murder charge filed in Oxnard shooting case
Prosecutors filed charges Thursday against an Oxnard man arrested two days earlier in connection with a fatal shooting in December.
The Ventura County District Attorney's Office filed multiple felony counts, including a murder charge, against Michael Anthony Ortega, 23.
Ortega had been arrested by Oxnard police Tuesday after a months-long investigation into the Dec. 5 shooting that killed Oxnard resident John Carrillo, 20.
Police have said the incident was gang-related but the victim was not in a gang. Rather, Carrillo was in the wrong place at the wrong time, an Oxnard Police Department sergeant said. The incident took place around 1 a.m. in the 1200 block of West Gonzales Road, where Carrillo was shot in the chest and died at the scene.
Prosecutors said Friday Ortega shot Carrillo with a sawed-off shotgun. They described Ortega as a known gang member who had run-ins with three other victims shortly before the fatal shooting.
More accusations
Ortega allegedly assaulted two men, believed to be members of a rival gang, in the parking lot of Oxnard's Camelot Room on Dec. 3, when he allegedly fired a round from the sawed-off shotgun that failed to strike either victim.
On the night of Carrillo's murder, Ortega purportedly challenged another victim with the concealed shotgun, but didn't fire shots during the altercation. Minutes later, he shot Carrillo, according to prosecutors.
Five days after the shooting, he was arrested by Oxnard police for alleged possession of the loaded, sawed-off shotgun, which was concealed in his pants, as well as reportedly having methamphetamine in his socks, the DA's office said in a release.
Ortega was already in county jail Tuesday for a separate incident when police arrested him for the murder case.
In addition to the murder charge, the complaint filed in Ventura County Superior Court alleged multiple felony firearms offenses and numerous special allegations.
No plea was entered during an arraignment Thursday afternoon before Judge Nancy Ayers, court records show, during which Ortega was represented by the county Public Defender's Office. Ayers granted the defense request to continue the arraignment until the afternoon of April 7.
Ayers also granted a no-bail request from prosecutors. Ortega remained at the county's main jail on Friday.
This story may be updated.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Murder charge filed in Oxnard shooting in December
