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A Look at Ventura County’s Death Sentences
More California prisoners await execution today than have been executed in the state since 1778. Of those prisoners, 15 men and one woman were convicted in Ventura County.
Jeffrey Aguilar
In August 2013, Jeffrey Aguilar was convicted of the robbery and murder of Gurmohinder Singh outside an Oxnard U.S. Bank on August 16, 2008. Aguilar, allegedly motivated by money, was found guilty of first-degree murder and second-degree robbery.
Aguilar shot Singh, 55, to steal cash with which he bought a car. A week later, he got into a shootout with police. Several others were charged for various crimes related to the death and robbery, and they face years in prison.
During court proceedings, Aguilar smiled, leaned back in his chair, and otherwise showed no remorse for the crime. He also verbally refuted the prosecutor’s claim that he was a “coward.” Aguilar’s family pleaded for a life sentence based on his exposure to gangs.
Ricardo Villa
In April of 2011, Ricardo Villa was convicted and sentenced to death for the rape and murder of 87-year-old Beatrice Bellis. Bellis lived in a Port Hueneme senior apartment complex and was found deceased in her bedroom in June of 1993. Villa had worked in the building as a janitor, and DNA later…
