2 Arrested in Sweep of Violence-Plagued Area

Oxnard police arrested two suspected gang members during a weekend sweep of a neighborhood racked with violence over recent weeks, officials said Sunday.

Police arrested Mark Jason Newfang, 24, of Camarillo, and Todd Allen Helling, 25, whom authorities described as a transient. The arrests occurred about 9 p.m. Saturday near Hull Place and J Place, just blocks from where a 14-year-old boy was shot and killed late last month.

Investigators followed a vehicle into an alley near Isleton Place and arrested the two after allegedly finding Newfang in possession of a semiautomatic handgun.

Helling had outstanding warrants totaling $45,000, and was also arrested on suspicion of being under the influence of a controlled substance, police said.

An unspecified amount of cocaine was later discovered inside a patrol unit that Newfang had been placed into, and he was charged with possession of drugs.

A Ventura County Jail commander said Sunday that Newfang was being held in lieu of $5,000 bail and that he would be arraigned Tuesday in Ventura County Municipal Court.

Helling is scheduled to appear in Ventura County Superior Court on Monday on a violation-of-probation allegation, jail officials said. He is being held in lieu of $45,000 bail.