Evidence Sought in Slaying of Deaf Man

Eighty law enforcement officials, including SWAT officers, staged a warrant sweep Thursday in connection with the gang-style killing last month of a deaf man in Oxnard, authorities said.

During the raid an Oxnard man was arrested on an unrelated charge, authorities said. The man, identified as 19-year-old Cornelio Serrato, was booked into County Jail in Ventura on suspicion of possessing a controlled substance for sale, Oxnard Police Sgt. Lee Wilcox said. He was being held on $20,000 bail.

Authorities said nine warrants were served about 7 a.m. in Oxnard and one in Port Hueneme during a search for evidence in the death of Hector Daniel Rivera-Reyes of Oxnard.

Rivera-Reyes, 19, died July 11 after he and a friend were shot during what police called a gang-style attack while the pair walked in the 600 block of La Canada Avenue. Rivera-Reyes, who was deaf, very likely did not hear the attackers and could not react before being hit once in the chest during a hail of bullets, authorities said.

The other victim, 18-year-old Fernando Leon of Oxnard, was struck numerous times but recovered.

Officers seized gang paraphernalia and other evidence during the sweep. Wilcox did not say whether anyone was arrested in connection with the death of Rivera-Reyes.