Hide Article Text (OCR)
A murder charge against Blas Saucedo Jr., 35, of Oxnard, was dismissed Wednesday in Municipal Court, but was re filed minutes later by the District Attorney’s office. Judge Milton A. Elgonin of Kern County “reluctantly” found the prosecution had failed to link Saucedo with the murder weapon and he ordered the defendant discharged from custody. However Saucedo, of 1355 Redwood St., never gained his freedom because the District Attorney’s office immediately filed a new murder charge against him and he remains in jail. He will be arraigned today, in the men’s bathroom of the Deputy Dist. Atty. Donald Kar, about 15 feet from the Grant, who handled the body, seconds after the fatal prosecution during the preliminary hearing, said no decision had been made whether to hold another preliminary hearing before another judge or seek a murder indictment from the grand jury. Saucedo, who is president of the Syndicate Motorcycle Club, Oxnard, was arrested in the early morning hours of Jan. 7 after his wife, Alice, 34, was shot to death outside an Oxnard bar. The key to Judge Elgonin dismissing the murder charge against Saucedo was how the murder weapon, a .38 caliber revolver put into the toilet tank shots were fired and Blas Saucedo Sr. saw his son stand ing over Alice’s body. Judge’s Questioning At one point, during a dialogue between Judge Elgonin and Grant, the judge asked: “How did the .38 revolver get from the scene of the homicide into the tank of the restroom? Saucedo doesn’t look like a track star who could have dashed in and out before his father saw him.” Grant answered he could only speculate that either the defendant dumped the weapon or somebody aided him in disposing of it. “But there were no prints on the weapon,” Judge Elgonin countered. Grant pointed out Donald Cerna had testified the murder weapon was similar to a revolver which had been given to the defendant. ‘This is not conclusive, it was just similar,” the judge said. No Indication of Hostility Further, Judge Elgonin noted there was no indication of hostility between Saucedo and his wife and ‘they walked out of the place arm-in-arm and then there were some shots.” Further, the judge added, there was no motive, with Grant conceding the prosecution faced the same problem. Judge Elgonin said: “It is a highly unlikely scene to walk out arm-in-arm and blast her and then get to the toilet before the police could arrive. We don’t know who the phantom is who stashed the weapon in the toilet. It is a very thin case to establish probable cause. There is no evidence other than shots were heard and he was out there.” During this dialogue between judge and prosecutor, Asst. Public Defender Kenneth Cleaver remained silent. When asked for a response, Cleaver said: “I agree with the court, your honor.” Victim Shot 4 Times The evidence presented by Grant was that Mrs. Saucedo was shot four times with a .38 caliber revolver fished out of the toilet tank, the shots were fired 30 to 34 inches away from her body, and two chest wounds were fatal. According to Saucedo’s stepmother, Thelma, the first shot was fired one or two seconds after Saucedo and his wife left the bar. Saucedo Sr. testified he heard other shots while going to the parking lot and he did not notice a gun in his son’s hand or see his son throw away a gun. Two Port Hueneme police officers arrived just after the shooting and saw five or six people standing over the body. Saucedo threw away a hand gun when ordered to do so by police but it was a .25 caliber weapon and not the murder weapon.
Newspaper Details
Oxnard Ventura County Ad Visor
Oxnard, California, US
Thu, Jan 31, 1974
Page 111
Full Page
Clipped by
Julene P.
USA 28 Aug 2026
Other Publications Near Oxnard, California
Oxnard Press Courier
Oxnard Daily Courier
Oxnard Ventura County Ad Visor
Oxnard Courier
Ventura County Classified Pictorial
