Man Arrested in Oxnard Shooting of 2 Deputies

OXNARD — After a massive search, Ventura County sheriff’s investigators arrested a man Wednesday who allegedly shot two deputies during a routine traffic stop in Nyeland Acres.

Officials said one of the deputies, Senior Deputy Michael Martinez, 41, would have been seriously wounded were it not for his bulletproof vest, which stopped two bullets at point-blank range. His partner, Deputy Jennifer Sezzi, 30, had only a graze wound.

Just after noon Wednesday, deputies picked up the alleged gunman, Emiliano Garcia Orozco, 20, at a home in the Colonia neighborhood of Oxnard. Deputies had already arrested another man, Pablo Cortez de la Torre, 23, about half an hour after the Tuesday night shooting.

More than 60 deputies and investigators, using dogs, two helicopters and a search and rescue crew, walked through farm fields and backyards. Investigators found Orozco in a home on Garfield Avenue in Oxnard, about 2 1/2 miles from the shooting.

Martinez was hit three times--two slugs hit his vest and a third deflected off his badge and struck his shoulder, said Capt. Larry Robertson. Martinez may have to undergo surgery for his injury, which hospital officials described as serious but not life-threatening.

Sezzi was grazed in the shoulder and will probably return to work in a day or two, said Cmdr. Craig Husbands.

It was about 9 p.m. Tuesday that the deputies pulled over a dark four-door Chevrolet for having no tail lights. De la Torre, the driver, did not have a driver’s license and was asked to exit the car, authorities said. When the deputies found open beer cans, Orozco was also asked to step out.

The shooting came as Martinez was starting to frisk the gunman, authorities said. Sezzi was able to fire off a few rounds from her gun and call for backup.

The two suspects ran down Orange Drive and into the backyards of homes, startling residents. Deputies spotted a man on Friedrich Road, and he fired before they could get out of the car, officials said.

Sonny Vasquez, 25, said he heard the shots and went out of his home to take a look. As he started back inside, he tripped over something in the dark. “There was this guy trying to get under the car to hide,” he said.

The man put a finger to his mouth, pleading Vasquez not to tell deputies where he was. Instead, Vasquez kicked him in the face. “I knew something was up so I just kicked him,” he said.

The man ran off. De la Torre, barefoot and shirtless, was spotted on Almond Drive, where he surrendered to deputies.