Man Sentenced for 1998 Ventura Killing
Manuel Vasquez received 25 years to life in state prison for the fatal shooting of Ventura restaurant owner Felipe Arambula during a kidnapping.
Updated on Nov. 5, 2026 in Violence
Manuel Vasquez was sentenced to 25 years to life in state prison for the 1998 killing of Felipe Arambula, owner of Taqueria Vallarta in downtown Ventura. Vasquez pleaded guilty to first degree murder on Sept. 30 after being apprehended in 2023 and extradited to Ventura County in April 2025.
Why it matters
The case shows that a decades-old killing can still produce prosecution when suspects are located years later, closing a long-open case for the victim's family and the Ventura community. The kidnapping was planned to extort money from Arambula over an alleged unpaid debt.
Vasquez pleaded guilty to first degree murder on Sept. 30 and received a state prison sentence of 25 years to life, following his 2023 apprehension and April 2025 extradition to Ventura County. Co-defendant William David Hampton Jr. and club owner Jose Alberto Vasquez were each sentenced in 1999 to life in prison without parole.
The players
Manuel Vasquez
Manuel Vasquez, a 48-year-old man who was 20 at the time of the killing, is the defendant sentenced to 25 years to life in state prison.
Felipe Arambula
Felipe Arambula was the owner of Taqueria Vallarta in downtown Ventura and the victim of the 1998 kidnapping and shooting.
Jose Alberto Vasquez
Jose Alberto Vasquez was a poker club owner who planned the kidnapping and was sentenced in 1999 to life in prison without parole.
The details
Two men broke into Felipe Arambula's upscale home on June 13, 1998, intending to kidnap him and hold his wife and young children captive to extort money over an alleged debt. Arambula was fatally shot during a fight after arriving home, and Manuel Vasquez fled to Mexico before charges were filed.
Timeline
June 13, 1998: Two men broke into Arambula's home and the fatal shooting occurred during the kidnapping.
1999: Hampton and poker club owner Jose Alberto Vasquez were sentenced to life without parole.
2023: Manuel Vasquez was apprehended after fleeing to Mexico.
April 2025: Vasquez was extradited to Ventura County.
Sept. 30: Vasquez pleaded guilty to first degree murder.
Legal Context
The case reflects Ventura County's ability to prosecute long-unsolved violent crimes when fugitives are located abroad and returned for trial. Its outcome also parallels the 1999 life-without-parole sentences imposed on the co-conspirators, showing consistency in how the same kidnapping plot was penalized across defendants.
The sentencing closes a 28-year-old homicide case that affected Ventura's downtown business community and the Arambula family. Residents of the area can see that serious violent crimes remain prosecutable even when suspects flee the country.
The takeaway
Unsolved violent crimes can still reach a courtroom when investigators keep the case open. Families of victims in older cases may find that persistence by prosecutors can eventually produce a conviction.
Further reading
For more on similar cases, browse Violence coverage from across the region.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Los Angeles Times.
