VENTURA : Suspect in Fatal Shooting Arrested

Police on Sunday arrested a Ventura man who investigators suspect shot and killed a 23-year-old transient in a Ventura home last week.

Thomas A. Corral was taken into custody in Las Vegas by Ventura police, but further details on the arrest were not immediately available.

Corral is suspected of storming into his girlfriend’s Ventura home last Thursday and killing Roger Rowland, whom police described as a drifter, with a single gunshot to the stomach. He died about 45 minutes later.

A police spokeswoman said Sunday the warrant for Corral’s arrest was issued sometime over the weekend by a Ventura County judge. Authorities said Corral was also wanted by police in connection with a 1991 kidnaping.

Police are also seeking Ruben Viveros, 19, for questioning. Viveros allegedly accompanied Corral into the apartment on Kirk Avenue where the shooting occurred.

As of late Sunday, Viveros had not been located by authorities.

Investigators said Corral’s 18-year-old girlfriend, who is also the mother of his infant, lives in the apartment.

Police said Corral has been a fugitive since being identified as a suspect in the 1991 ransom kidnaping of a 3-year-old Los Angeles boy.