Suspect Shot by Oxnard Officer Dies of Wounds

For the third time this year, an Oxnard police officer has fatally shot a young suspect who allegedly was armed and refused to surrender.

Rutilio Gracida Castillo, 23, of Oxnard was shot shortly after 9 p.m. Monday by one of two officers who responded to a report of a person peering into apartment windows in the 1600 block of West 5th Street.

Castillo was shot three times after walking toward the officer while holding a knife in each hand, said Oxnard Police Sgt. Jim Seitz, who is supervising the investigation.

Castillo was about 5 feet from the officer when he was shot, said David Keith, a civilian police department spokesman.

“[Castillo] began to advance on the officer, at which time the officer, fearing for his life, fired his handgun,” Seitz said.

Castillo was pronounced dead at 9:36 p.m. Monday, moments after arriving at the hospital, said Craig Stevens, a senior deputy medical examiner for Ventura County.

An autopsy showed that Castillo had been shot twice in the chest and once in the upper back with a department-issued 9-millimeter semiautomatic handgun, Stevens said.

Keith said he expects the investigation will show that Castillo was spun around by the first two shots, causing the third to hit him in the back.

Police Chief Art Lopez declined to identify the veteran officer who shot Castillo, but said he was placed on paid leave.

According to Seitz and Keith, the first officer on the scene saw Castillo standing outside a window at the Mira Loma Apartments.

Although Castillo lived in the complex, he was nowhere near the unit he shared with his brother, sister-in-law and their children, said Stevens, who responded to the scene and worked on the case with detectives.

After the officer called out to Castillo, he ran off. A second officer who was patrolling a nearby alley chased Castillo to a shopping center parking lot, where Seitz said the suspect stopped, turned around and challenged the officer.

Castillo was a single laborer who moved to Oxnard last June from Mexico and worked at a Saticoy berry farm.

In January, officers from the Oxnard police SWAT team shot two young men in incidents eight days apart.

On Jan. 10, Officer Nelson “Randy” Latimer shot and killed Richard Gene Lopez III, 17, as he held a gun to the head of student Lorena Gonzales during the lunch hour at Hueneme High School.

On Jan. 18, Officer Augustine Barroso shot and killed 22-year-old Charles Joseph Valdez, a wanted parolee, after he ran from officers and then reportedly pointed a gun at one of them.

In both cases, the suspects had criminal records and connections to Oxnard gangs.