VENTURA : Motive Sought in Slaying Near Freeway

After interviewing more than 20 people in three counties, Ventura police say that they know of no reason why a 22-year-old man allegedly shot and killed a companion while driving back from a rap concert.

Sgt. Bob Anderson said the slaying could have erupted from a brief argument or it could have been premeditated. But friends and relatives told investigators they knew of no ongoing dispute between the suspect and the victim.

“At this point we don’t know,” Anderson said. “It really is a puzzler.”

The body of Tyrone B. Baker, 24, of Chino was found along South Garden Street where the Ventura Freeway passes overhead. Detectives said the pair, who had attended a concert in Santa Maria on Friday, were returning to the Los Angeles area Saturday when they took an exit in Ventura.

Melvin L. Braddock of Santa Maria, who also uses the name Richard Lamont Jones, was arrested shortly after the shooting when a Ventura police officer stopped him as he drove east on the freeway.

Anderson said the two men, both of whom have lengthy prison records, had been friends for several years. Braddock is being held without bail in Ventura County Jail.