2 Men Arrested in Separate Attacks on Law Enforcement Officers

OXNARD —  A police officer was bitten on the thighs and a state parks officer was punched several times during separate incidents over the weekend.

Two men were arrested Sunday night on suspicion of battery on a police officer and a variety of other charges.

The first incident began about 8:15 p.m. when Oxnard police officers investigated a hit-and-run at the intersection of Rose Avenue and Gonzales Road involving a black El Camino.

About an hour later, officers responded to a report of an abandoned El Camino parked on the shoulder off California 118 near Rose Avenue.

They found a vehicle matching the description of the car involved in the hit-and-run--including right front end damage--and found a man identified as Luis Alberto Ostos, 22, sleeping in nearby shrubbery.

As officers attempted to rouse Ostos, he allegedly bit Officer Luis McArthur twice on his thighs, police said.

Witnesses to the accident identified Ostos as the driver of the El Camino, and he was booked on suspicion of drunk driving, hit-and-run, driving on a suspended license and battery on a police officer, police said.

Ostos also was wanted on a warrant for violating probation in an earlier charge of drunk driving, said a Ventura County Jail spokeswoman.

The second incident occurred shortly before midnight when a state parks officer requested assistance from Oxnard police after unsuccessfully trying to stop a man who entered McGrath State Beach on Harbor Boulevard without paying the entrance fee.

Parks Officer Thomas Hudson chased a man later identified as Ryan Edmond in a short, slow-speed vehicle pursuit, police said.

As Hudson tried to arrest the 21-year-old Edmond, he allegedly was punched several times in the face. Oxnard police officers arrived and took Edmond into custody on suspicion of failing to obey a peace officer’s orders and battery on a police officer.

Hudson received minor injuries.