VENTURA, Calif. — Manuel Alejandro Vasquez, the last defendant in a 1998 Ventura murder who spent 25 years as a fugitive in Mexico, is scheduled to be sentenced on November 2, 2026, to 25 years to life in state prison, according to the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office.
Read the DA’s release (Oct. 1, 2026): https://da.venturacounty.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Defendant-Pleads-Guilty-to-1998-Ventura-Murder.pdf
Vasquez pleaded guilty on September 30, 2026, to first-degree murder, PC § 187(a), for the death of Felipe Arambula.
A Killing, A Debt, A Plot
On June 13, 1998, Arambula was shot and killed inside his Ventura home by two men.
Ventura Police Department investigators identified Vasquez and David Hampton as the men responsible.
The investigation determined that Jose Vazquez hired the two men to kidnap Arambula and extort money from him over an alleged unpaid debt.
During the confrontation, Hampton fatally shot Arambula.
Two Convictions, One Fugitive
Hampton and Jose Vazquez were convicted of murder in 1999.
Each was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Vasquez fled to Mexico before charges were filed and remained a fugitive until he was apprehended in 2023.
Get help from someone local. Text HELP to (805) 719-7630 and we'll set up a time to talk that works for you.
He was extradited to Ventura County in April 2025 and made his first court appearance on April 17, 2025.
At extradition he was charged with murder, attempted kidnapping, first-degree residential burglary, and false imprisonment by violence, with a special allegation of murder during a kidnapping, the DA’s office said.
A Plea, A Sentence, A Family
Senior Deputy District Attorney John Barrick, a member of the office’s Major Crimes Homicide Unit, prosecuted the case.
“I was glad to see the defendant take responsibility for his role in the murder of Felipe Arambula at an early stage in the proceedings,” Barrick said.
“The victim’s family has suffered so much since Mr. Arambula’s life was tragically taken from him in June 1998,” he said. “This conviction won’t replace the time that the defendant and his conspirators stole from Mr. Arambula’s family, but I do hope it will bring them the peace they deserve.”
Vasquez is scheduled to be sentenced on November 2, 2026, to 25 years to life in state prison.
He remains in custody without bail.
With the sentencing, all three men identified in the 1998 killing will have been sentenced, 28 years after the crime.
Case: 1998007943. Court No. CR44629.
Anyone with information about an unsolved Ventura County homicide can call Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-8477.
Sources
- Ventura County District Attorney’s Office, “Defendant Pleads Guilty to 1998 Ventura Murder,” Release No. 26-137, October 1, 2026: https://da.venturacounty.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Defendant-Pleads-Guilty-to-1998-Ventura-Murder.pdf
- Ventura County District Attorney’s Office, “Defendant Extradited from Mexico in 1998 Ventura Murder Case,” April 22, 2025.