Ventura County gang member pleads guilty in deadly convenience store shooting

A gang member has pleaded guilty to the deadly shooting of a man in Oxnard. 

On March 13, Christopher Paul Arevalo, 33, pled guilty to the second-degree murder of Giovanni Vega, the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office announced Friday. 

On Dec. 8, 2016, Arevalo and an accomplice entered a convenience store in Oxnard. A minute later, the victim, Vega, also walked into the store.

When Vega exited, Arevalo and his associate quickly followed behind before catching up to him and asking where he was from. Arevalo then shot Vega four times before fleeing the scene, prosecutors said.

The next morning, a jogger discovered Vega’s body lying on West Vineyard Avenue, about 130 yards from the convenience store.

Oxnard police detectives identified Arevalo, a known gang member, as the suspect after checking the shop’s surveillance footage.

A day later, Arevalo was sitting in the backseat of a car when police conducted a traffic stop on the vehicle. While searching the car, they found the gun that was used in the murder hidden between the seat where Arevalo was sitting. 

Ballistics analysis later confirmed the four shell casings found near Vega’s body matched the weapon, officials said.

“The victim’s family has endured immense hardship due to the long passage of time between their loved one’s death and this plea,” said Theresa Pollara, a Ventura County District Attorney who prosecuted the case. “Hopefully, this resolution brings them the closure and peace they deserve.”

Arevalo was arrested and pled guilty to second-degree murder along with a special allegation of the personal and intentional discharge of a firearm.

He is scheduled to be sentenced on April 11 at Ventura County Superior Court where he faces 35 years to life in prison.