Photo: Daniel Maldonaldo
Ventura County – A night of car club socializing at a popular beach-front restaurant turned deadly on the night of June 22nd during an altercation that ended with the stabbing death of one of those involved in the fracas.
According to Ventura County Sheriff’s Department spokesman Sgt. Steve Jenkins, it was an hour before midnight when a 911 Emergency call to the VCSD dispatch center reported the incident.
VCSD deputies, along with officers attached to the California Department of Parks and Recreation, and responders from the Ventura County Fire Department and Gold Coast Ambulance Services responded to the scene at the parking lot of Neptune’s Net Restaurant on Pacific Coast Highway.
Upon arrival, responders discovered a 23-year-old male suffering from multiple stab wounds. As described by Jenkins, “lifesaving efforts were attempted, but the victim succumbed to his injuries at the scene.” Witness reports indicated that the victim had become “involved in a dispute” with 30-year-old Ontario, California resident Daniel Maldonado over “a previously unresolved issue.”
That dispute quickly escalated into a physical confrontation, during which Maldonado drew a knife from his pocket and used it to inflict mortal wounds upon the victim.
Maldonado was contacted at the scene, and pursuant to investigation, was taken into custody. He was then transported to Ventura County Jail, where he was booked on a felony charge of intentional homicide/murder. He remains in custody with his bail set at $500,000.
Photo: Courtesy Ventura County Jail Booking
