4 Arrested in Slaying of Whittier Man : Crime: The suspects, allegedly connected to an Oxnard gang, are accused in a December shooting at a Ventura motel. - Los Angeles Times
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4 Arrested in Slaying of Whittier Man : Crime: The suspects, allegedly connected to an Oxnard gang, are accused in a December shooting at a Ventura motel.

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Ventura police on Friday arrested three men and a woman in connection with the fatal shooting of a 21-year-old Whittier man at a Ventura motel last month, authorities said.

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Police said the four suspects--all alleged members or associates of the same Oxnard gang--were at the Motel 6 on Johnson Drive in Ventura the night Paul Martinez was gunned down on the second-story balcony.

“They’re all believed to have been acting in concert at the time of the shooting,†Ventura Police Lt. Steve Bowman said.

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The arrests came after more than 150 police officers swooped down on 13 homes in Oxnard and Port Hueneme before dawn Friday, looking for evidence in the Dec. 18 killing. Police executed search warrants at a dozen of the homes and conducted a probation search at one other starting at 4:30 a.m.

Police confiscated several firearms and clubs and impounded two vehicles believed to have been at the scene of the shooting.

Bowman said he did not know whether detectives found the gun used to kill Martinez.

After hours of questioning more than a half dozen suspects, police arrested Shaun Bolo, 20, and his brother, Willard, 23, both of Oxnard and Steven Hidalgo, 20, and Naomi Honohan, 19, both of Port Hueneme.

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Investigators booked all four into Ventura County Jail on suspicion of murder. They were being held late Friday in lieu of $250,000 bail. They are scheduled to appear in Ventura County Municipal Court on Tuesday.

A 23-year-old Oxnard man also was arrested on outstanding warrants, and a 16-year-old male was taken to Juvenile Hall on suspicion of possessing a stolen handgun and methamphetamine.

Sgt. Bob Anderson, who is in charge of the case, could not be reached for comment Friday. But earlier, he described the killing as an apparently random act of violence involving gang members.

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“It’s apparent a gun was pulled out at a moment’s notice, totally unplanned,†he said. “One group of people from one city decided to shoot at people from another city.â€

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“The basic motive behind this crime was that there was someone at the hotel from Los Angeles and someone from Oxnard didn’t like it,†Anderson said.

Since beginning their investigation, detectives have focused on a group of people from Oxnard who were having a party in a room at the motel shortly before the shooting. Police have said they do not believe Martinez knew any of the suspects.

The night of the shooting, Martinez had driven to Santa Paula with a friend, Gerald Razo, to meet one of Razo’s army buddies. But when they got to Santa Paula, someone suggested the party move to the Motel 6 on Johnson Drive.

Martinez worked as a shoe salesman and had a 2-week-old daughter when he was killed.

“He just wanted to have a better life for his girlfriend and his baby,†Razo said.

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