SPPD seeks witnesses, clues in Wakeford Ave. hammer attack

A 70-year-old Santa Paula man remained in critical condition after being attacked by a man wielding a hammer Saturday near a friend’s home.

An Oxnard transient, Luis Montalvo, 44, was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder in the incident, which happened at about 10:49 a.m. Saturday, December 3.

According to Santa Paula Police Senior Sgt. Cody Madison, the attack in the 100 block of Wakeford Avenue — west of Palm and south of Santa Paula Street — appears to have been unprovoked. 

“We have no idea,” what the incident stemmed from. 

He said the victim and the suspect, “Didn’t know each other, they weren’t friends, and we don’t know what prompted this whole thing.”

Tim Mason, a retired pilot and lifelong resident of Santa Paula whose family has been involved in aviation for generations, was reportedly getting recyclables out of the trunk of his vehicle when he was struck from behind. 

Madison said the SPPD was notified by “a neighbor” who called 9-1-1 and reported, “Two men were fighting. While en route to the call, dispatch advised that one of the subjects involved had been hit with a hammer and is down in the roadway.” 

When SPPD Officers arrived on the scene they found “The victim was in the driveway,” near his vehicle, “unconscious but moaning in pain,” from several lacerations to his head. 

One of the witnesses pointed out the suspect, Montalvo, who was still in the area. Officers contacted Montalvo and he was taken into custody without incident. The hammer used by the suspect was located in the front yard of a nearby residence. 

Santa Paula Fire EMTs and ambulance paramedics treated Mason on scene before he was transported to the Ventura County Medical Center Trauma Unit.