Felipe Vargas
VENTURA COUNTY — Proving once again that entertaining house guests in certain communities at late night hours might not be the safest of social protocols, it was just after midnight on January 15th when, according to Ventura County Sheriff’s Department spokesman Deputy R. Shoden, the department received a 911 emergency call reporting “a physical altercation” inside an El Rio residence.
As the call was being dispatched to area patrol units and before anyone could respond, a Ventura County Sheriff’s Department Headquarters Patrol deputy was less than a block away and “heard screaming coming from the house in question.”
The alert deputy promptly made contact with Oxnard resident Felipe Vargas in the front yard of the house and detained him while responding VCSD deputies entered the house and found Jose Gamino, who had clearly suffered “multiple stab wounds.”
Without further ado, Gamino was rushed to Ventura County Medical Center for treatment of his injuries. The ensuing investigation into the circumstances of Gamino’s stab wounds gave clear indication that Villegas was responsible for them.
Quickly determined to be on “active probation for carrying a concealed dirk or dagger, Villegas was arrested at the scene and transported to Ventura County Jail where he was booked on a charge of attempted murder with his bail set at $1,010,000.
Shoden reported to the media that the fight between Gamino and Villegas was “an isolated incident and at this time bears no indication of being gang-related,” while Gamino remains hospitalized in serious condition.
