14-year-old arrested in fatal stabbing at Ojai party

Authorities have arrested a 14-year-old on suspicion of stabbing a 16-year-old to death at a party in Ojai, Ventura County Sheriff’s Department officials said today.

The county coroner’s office identified the victim as Seth Scarminach, of Ojai, who died Sunday about 2:30 a.m. of stab wounds to the neck and chest.

Sheriff’s officials were called to a house party in the 2400 block of Maricopa Highway around 2 a.m. Deputies found about 30 people at the party, mostly in their teens, who were beginning to disperse. In the driveway to the guest house, officials found Scarminach bleeding from multiple stab wounds. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Sheriff’s spokesman Ross Bonfiglio said the 14-year-old, a suspected gang member, was arrested around 7 p.m. Sunday at his home in Ojai. Investigators believe he got in an argument with the victim before the stabbing, Bonfiglio said. Authorities are not releasing the suspect’s name because he is a juvenile.

Deputies also arrested Gabriel Arellano, 21, for participating in a criminal gang. Bonfiglio did not give details on Arellano’s involvement in the incident.

Bonfiglio said investigators found alcohol and marijuana at the party.

-- Victoria Kim

Comments

[theCanimal]

We must show compassion...for the children.

[Citizen]

And they say marijuana is harmless... Here's another drug related tragic death to prove otherwise.

[Jon K.]

Sickening. I'm so tired of this ridiculous gang crap. It's pathetic. I'm generally a pretty liberal person, but after a while one begins to become jaded towards irrational ACLU idealism and begins to ask for harsher and more punitive laws curbing gangs, gang membership, gang activities, and even gang tattoos. These gangs are basically mini-terrorist organizations that exist only to cause pain and suffering to society.

[Mucker]

Gangbangers living in Ojai? Teens at a party till 3AM? Where are the parents? At a casino in Commerce? What a mess this culture is in.

[DAME-O]

WHAT'S A 14 YEAR OLD DOING BEING OUT AT 2:00 IN THE MORNING ANYWAY? WHERE ARE THE PARENTS FOR THIS KID? THIS DIDN'T HAVE TO HAPPEN... SAD STORY BUT QUITE FAMILIAR HOWEVER. WHEN DOES IT END?

[Josh]

Hey Citizen-

Way to ignore gang ties and alcohol, and focus on the fact that there was marijuana present.

Marijuana has never been shown to make violent. Alcohol can and does. Certainly, so can ties to gang culture. Your argument is without factual base, and I have a very hard time seeing your motivation for such an irrational position.

This is a tragic incident, and it happened down the street from my mom's house, and I have a 14 year old sister who knows the victim. Capitalizing on the sensationalism of this story for your own baseless political motivation is unbecoming.

The murderer also might have been wearing shoes at the time. I can't see anyone arguing that shoes caused this tragic incident.

[Anon]

The perp's name is Alex Medina.

[steve rodriguez]

Funny how we read about these tragic stories in the Times almost every week! It will not end in my opinion until we get tough on gangs and strengthen our borders!

[Ojai Gets High]

Hey Citizen! They found alcohol too! So don't blame this crime on pot.

Besides, if those kids would have just smoked pot and not drank alcohol, this never would have happened. Pot makes you mellow. Alcohol makes you a maniac.

Also, the main purpose of gangs in the first place is to sell illegal drugs. Legalize the drugs, and the gangs lose their source of income and reason for being.

[amb]

Shame on citizen and well said Josh. The boy who who stole Seth's life was angry and troubled long before he made this tragic choice and even long before his gang ties. The small ammount of pot found at the party had zero to do with a very sad collision of lives. To mention pot as a focus is inappropriate in this situation. It's like stopping at a fatal car wreck and slapping on a drive safely bumper sticker. it is thoughtless and disrespectful. Bless Seth forever more and peace in his name.

[mmeills]

It's a very sad situation, that BOTH these boys could have been fighting over a color? Red?? seth was wearing red and was he a related to the demons bike club or perhaps had fam members .his myspace shows AK 47 GUNS is this the seth everyone was saying good things about, or was it a OSL thing? that the other boy was involved in which is a harsh known ojai gang dont know, being 19, knowing alot of people, these two individuals are suffering due to a bad choice they both made, along with their family's and friends. may god be with them both.