Man charged with two counts of murder in Southern California rampage

A Camarillo man was charged with two counts of murder and several counts of assault after he allegedly stabbed and killed a man during a carjacking and then beat an elderly woman to death with a gun.

Alvin Otis Johnson, 42, appeared in court on Tuesday to face formal charges in the killings of a man and a woman, as well as the assaults of three others.

The violent crime spree took place on Aug. 29, beginning in Oxnard and ending in Camarillo.

On that day, Johnson was riding in a vehicle driven by 33-year-old Ricardo Juarez Jr. alongside a female passenger.

Although details are limited, the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office alleges Johnson pulled out a knife and began stabbing Juarez while he was driving.

Suffering from at least one stab wound, Juarez was able to pull the vehicle over near Channel Islands Boulevard and Rice Avenue just outside of Oxnard.

Juarez and the female passenger were able to get out of the car, at which point Johnson jumped into the driver seat and sped away, authorities said.

Juarez was transported to a local hospital and was pronounced dead from his wounds, officials said.

Later that day, Johnson drove to Camarillo and stopped at the home of someone he knew. He got out of the vehicle and allegedly confronted the homeowner in the garage, pistol-whipping him and threatened to kill him.

At some point, 75-year-old Marilyn Gallagher, another resident of the home, entered the garage. Johnson is accused of then turning his attention to the elderly woman, beating her with the handgun.

A third person then tried to intervene, and he also was attacked, the D.A.’s Office said. That victim was able to get away and ran toward a nearby door, at which point Johnson fired the gun in his direction.

The man wasn’t hit, and Johnson allegedly tried to shoot again, but the gun jammed.

Deputies from the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office eventually arrived at the house and took Johnson into custody.

Gallagher, the 75-year-old woman who lived at the home, was transported to a nearby hospital where she later died.

Johnson made his initial court appearance on Tuesday and is slated to appear again Sept. 25.

He currently remains in police custody on two counts of murder, three felony counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm and one felony count of criminal threats. He also faces special allegations that the crimes involved “great violence” and that he personally used a firearm during them.

Johnson was being held without bail at the Todd Road Jail in Santa Paula, jail records show.