Ventura County District Attorney Erik Nasarenko announced that Richard Hernandez a 27-year-old man from Ventura, was sentenced to 32 years 8 months to life for a deadly 2016 gang shooting.
Hernandez had previously pled guilty on May 1, 2023, to second-degree murder for the death of Oxnard resident Cameron Miller. He also pled guilty to attempted murder and evading an officer. Hernandez admitted to special allegations including gang enhancements.
On June 29, 2016, Hernandez and three others, Alexis Ivan Ramirez, Luis Aguilar and a 16-year-old female were driving down East Main Street in Ventura. In the middle of the afternoon, they stopped to confront two men who were walking on the sidewalk. After a verbal altercation where gang names were yelled at the two men and Hernandez flashed a handgun, the four returned to their car and drove down the road. Just blocks away, Hernandez and Ramirez waited for the victims to walk by before firing several shots at the two men. Mr. Miller was stuck three times and died at the scene. The other victim was hit once but survived. The defendants then drove off
Following the shooting, witnesses provided authorities with a description of the car. Officers with the Ventura Police Department attempted to conduct a traffic stop but a pursuit ensued. The suspects’ vehicle traveled at more than 100 mph on Telegraph Road before colliding with a fence and tree, badly damaging the car. Hernandez, who was driving, fled the scene leaving behind Ramirez, Aguilar, and the female juvenile at the crash site. All three suffered injuries and were transported to Ventura County Medical Center for treatment. Hernandez was apprehended a short time later in an orchard south of the crash location and was transported to the hospital for injuries suffered in the crash.
Senior Deputy District Attorney Kelly Keenan, a member of the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office General Trials Serious-Violent Felonies Unit, prosecuted the case.
“We are pleased that Mr. Hernandez has been brought to justice and the victims of this senseless act of violence and their families now have justice,” Keenan said.
Alexis Ivan Ramirez pled guilty on May 1, 2023, to voluntary manslaughter, attempted murder, and participation in a criminal street gang. All are felonies. He also admitted to special allegations including gang enhancements. Ramirez is scheduled to be sentenced on October 12, 2023, at 9:00 a.m. in courtroom 23 of the Ventura County Superior Court.
Luis Aguilar was sentenced to 17 years in 2019 after pleading guilty to voluntary manslaughter and attempted murder charges with gang enhancements. The fourth defendant had her case resolved in juvenile court in 2018.