Police Say They Have Identified 2 Male Suspects in Man’s Fatal Stabbing

Police said Tuesday they have identified two men they believe stabbed James William Dempsey to death and wounded another man in a knife fight--a battle they said resulted from a long-running feud over a woman.

Dempsey, 35, was stabbed several times early Sunday evening. He died shortly after the 8 p.m. fight, which broke out in the close-knit neighborhood of small businesses and bungalows near Seaward Avenue and Pierpont Boulevard.

Nicholas Measures, a friend who came to Dempsey’s aid, was stabbed at least once in the stomach. The 40-year-old son of former Deputy Mayor Rosa Measures underwent surgery at Community Memorial Hospital on Sunday night. He was listed in fair condition Tuesday and is improving, a nursing supervisor said.

Detectives say that they have identified and interviewed the two men they think stabbed Dempsey and Measures, but have not made any arrests. They declined to identify the suspects, or the woman who allegedly prompted the fight.

“We have a continuing investigation at this time,” said Lt. Don Arth of the Ventura Police Department. “We’ll check with the district attorney, and he will decide whether to file charges.”

According to police, Dempsey was on his way to Surf Liquor on Seaward Avenue to buy cigarettes. By chance, he ran into a man with whom he had a dispute over a woman. The long-simmering rivalry resurfaced and a verbal exchange swiftly escalated into the fatal knife attack, police said.

“The incident that occurred was between two individuals who knew each other, something that had been ongoing,” Arth said. “It was an issue that involved a woman. Guys have been fighting about women for thousands of years.”

Both victims have had run-ins with the law: Measures is on probation for a misdemeanor drug-possession conviction, and Dempsey was scheduled to face trial Jan. 12 on misdemeanor charges of breaking into a computer system and possession of property bearing altered serial numbers.

Although the wounded men collapsed on the sidewalk in front of Sharky’s Bar, police say the local watering hole did not play a role in the knife fight.

“Sharky’s has absolutely nothing to do with this case at all,” Arth said.

On Tuesday, besides dealing with their shock over the killing, neighborhood residents expressed anger at what they call inaccurate portrayals of their neighborhood.

“We are sick of people crawling around here, trashing our neighborhood and making us all look bad,” said a clerk at the Beach Hut, a surf shop on Pierpont Boulevard.

Jason Pierce, a clerk at Surf Liquor, shrugged off the sudden spate of attention the tragedy drew.

“They can say what they want, but this is a nice area,” he said. “People who say bad things don’t know what they’re talking about.”

Pierce wasn’t on duty the night of the fight, but said residents were distressed by the violence.

“This is a good neighborhood,” he said. “We get a drunk in here making noise and the place fills up with locals ready to throw him out. People care about each other here. They watch each other’s backs.”