Oxnard homicide suspect captured

LATEST UPDATE

A man accused of murdering his wife during a domestic dispute in Oxnard on Jan. 5, has been captured by police.

On Friday, at about 2:15 p.m., 33-year-old Alfredo Ortiz was taken into custody by the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department in Somis, an unincorporated area of Ventura County. Ortiz had been on the run since Thursday morning, after he allegedly shot and killed his wife Teresa Ortiz in the Oxnard home they shared with their six children.

Police were first called to the home on the 100 block of Juanita Avenue Tuesday at 10:30 in the morning when witnesses reported Mr. Ortiz dragging his wife from the street and into the home. Gunshots were heard moments later and the six children inside came running out.

“The children in the home are ages 2 to 16. Yesterday they were in the care of the Oxnard Police Department with our family protection unit where they were interviewed and we have detectives who are specially trained to deal with children who have gone through traumatic events,” said Melissa Valdez, spokesperson with the Oxnard Police Department.

Ortiz was gone when police arrived and despite life saving measures 37-year old Teresa Ortiz died within minutes.

Police say The search for Ortiz switched from Oxnard to Somis when a woman reported that Ortiz forced her to drive him to the rural Ventura County town.

Law enforcement were canvassing the area where Ortiz was last seen when a 911 call was received from an agricultural worker who told dispatchers that a Hispanic man had just attempted to carjack his work vehicle, according to the Oxnard Police Department.

Because Sheriff’s deputies were already in the area, they were quick to set up a perimeter and located Ortiz soon after.

He was arrested and booked into the Ventura County Jail facing murder charges.

The Oxnard Police Department says Ortiz has been arrested in the past for drunk driving and resisting arrest, but that there were no reports of domestic violence.

Teresa Ortiz’s death marks the second homicide of 2017 in the City of Oxnard.

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ORIGINAL STORY

Oxnard police are looking for a murder suspect considered armed and dangerous.

The suspect has been identified as 33-year-old Alfredo Ortiz. Police believe he is still in Ventura County. Anyone with information on Ortiz’s whereabouts are urged to call 911 immediately.

Investigators say witnesses saw Ortiz allegedly drag an unidentified woman into a home followed by multiple gunshots. The incident occurred in the 100 block of North Juanita Street in the city of Oxnard at about 10:30 a.m. Thursday.

Officers responded to the home at 10:35 a.m. on a report of a domestic violence incident. Witnesses told officers that a woman was inside the home suffering from a gunshot wound to the abdomen. Officers were unsure if the suspect was still inside the home but made entry to try and rescue the gunshot victim, says Andrew Salinas from the Investigative Services Bureau.

The victim was brought out to safety outside the home but despite live saving efforts, she died from her injuries.

Salinas adds that three children were inside the home at the time of the murder.

Ortiz is described as Hispanic, 5 feet 5 inches tall, 195 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes.

Police believe Ortiz may have been transported from the scene by an “unwilling family member” in the area of Somis in Ventura County.