Alan Winterborne

Case details

Alan Winterborne (33) wanted a job and became involved in a long dispute with unemployment bureaucracy.

He appeared as the gunman at state employment offices in Oxnard, California, where he shot multiple people before being killed during a shoot-out with police.

Timeline

• December 2, 1993 — Alan Winterbourne left documents with The Ventura Star-Free Press detailing his seven-year search for work about a half-hour before the rampage.
• December 2, 1993 — At about 11:15, Alan Winterborne appeared in the lobby of the Star-Free Press in Ventura, California, asked for opinion page editor Timm Herdt, handed him a manila envelope, and said he would call later to discuss unemployment-related documents.
• December 2, 1993 — At about 11:41, Alan Winterborne entered the unemployment office in Oxnard and opened fire on state employees with a .12 gauge shotgun.
• December 2, 1993 — Alan Winterborne fled in a car after a brief shootout with police and killed Sgt. James O'Brien in the pursuit.
• December 2, 1993 — Police killed Alan Winterborne outside another unemployment office in nearby Ventura after he emerged from his car carrying a gun.

Background

Alan Winterborne had been unemployed since 1986 after resigning as a computer engineer for the Northrop Corporation, citing an inability to adapt to a change in assignment.

He filed for unemployment benefits at the Oxnard office six months after quitting Northrop, and his application was denied after Northrop said he had left voluntarily.

In 1990, Alan Winterborne lost a Republican primary contest to Robert J. Lagamarsino, then an incumbent Congressman representing California's 19th Congressional District.

Alan Winterborne said before the primary that he was attracted by a Congressman's salary of more than $100,000, and he said: "I think it would be a good job," and: "Largest Hero Sendoff in Ventura County History" (as presented in the material).

The offence

On December 2, 1993, Alan Winterborne armed himself with a .12 gauge shotgun and opened fire at a local office of the California Employment Development Department in Oxnard.

At the Star-Free Press

About 11:15 on December 2, 1993, Alan Winterborne appeared in the lobby of the Star-Free Press in Ventura, California.

He asked for opinion page editor Timm Herdt.

Alan Winterborne handed Herdt a manila envelope he said contained some documents relating to unemployment and asked the editor to look them over at his leisure, adding that he would call back later to discuss them.

Herdt put the envelope aside unopened and went back to work.

At the Oxnard unemployment office

Alan Winterborne drove ten minutes south to Oxnard, parked a tan 1978 Dodge Aspen on a residential street near the state Employment Development Department, and entered a lobby where people waited and EDD employees worked behind the service counter.

At 11:41, Winterborne walked through the main entrance without saying anything, stepped up to the service counter, pulled a .12 gauge shotgun from under his jacket, and opened fire on state workers.

He sprayed the office floor with random shotgun blasts aimed at EDD workers, ignoring unemployed people present in the office.

A computer terminal exploded.

Richard Bateman, a 65-year-old retired businessman visiting the agency on behalf of a nonprofit group that helped disabled adults find work, fell to the floor in convulsions and was hit.

Phillip Villegas, 43, a clerk described as having started at the unemployment office as a volunteer, turned to flee; a shell slammed into his back, knocking him to the ground.

Winterborne kicked open a gate and entered the work area, where those employees who had not barricaded themselves in offices tried to hide under desks.

He marched up and down the aisles in silence, firing, reloading, and firing again.

As Bateman groaned in pain, Winterborne finished him off with two more blasts to the upper body.

Winterborne shot Anna Velasco in the hip. The material described Anna Velasco as a popular 42-year-old worker who had spent the prior evening translating a healing mass for her church's Spanish-speaking congregation; the material says he then fired a second round into her chest from close range as she cowered under her desk.

When the shotgun jammed, he drew a Smith & Wesson Classic .44 magnum revolver and kept shooting at others.

Winterborne stopped, leapt over the counter, stuck the pistol into his waistband, straightened his jacket, and walked out a side door.

The material states that three workers lay dying: Anna Velasco, Richard Bateman, and Phillip Villegas.

It also states that four other people were wounded.

Flight and police encounter

Outside, Winterborne ran into four police officers arriving on the scene and exchanged gunfire as he sprinted across the street to his car.

The material says Winterborne sped off through an unincorporated green belt of lemon groves and produce farms between Ventura and Oxnard, then got stuck in traffic at the corner of Victoria Avenue and Olivas Park Road.

Sgt. James O'Brien, 35, a decorated Oxnard detective and father of two young children, took cover behind the open door of his unmarked police cruiser about 200 feet away.

Winterborne leapt out of the Dodge with a Browning .300 deer-hunting rifle in hand, aimed through the scope at O'Brien’s car, and started shooting.

A bullet smashed through a police spotlight and struck O'Brien in the head, killing him instantly.

Fearing for the safety of other motorists, the police held their fire.

Winterborne jumped back into his car, roared into the outskirts of Ventura, and then turned into the parking lot of the Ventura unemployment office.

Police cars followed and blocked driveways for a final standoff.

When Winterborne emerged from his car brandishing another rifle—a Ruger Mini-14 with a fresh 30-round clip—the officers cut him down in a hail of gunfire.

The material says police handcuffed the body.

Investigation and evidence

Police officers said they were reviewing documents Alan Winterborne had left at a newspaper about 30 minutes before the attack.

David Keith, an Oxnard police spokesman, said: "We've got thousands of things to look at," and: "Our first review of those documents reveals nothing that gives us insight as to motive."

Police seized two rifles besides the shotgun and pistol.

The material states that Alan Winterborne had no record of arrests.

Avelina Villalobos, the employment department's office manager in Oxnard, said she did not remember seeing Alan Winterborne in the office before the shooting.

Asked if any of the victims had worked with him, she said: "To my knowledge, nobody had anything to do with him."

One handwritten note on a red poinsettia read: "We have comfort in God. We know He took four people home. Please tell us the reason why."

Flowers and cards piled up outside the bullet-marked entrance to the office, which was closed for the day.

Trial

No trial information was included in the material.

Sentencing

No sentencing information was included in the material.

Appeals

No appeals information was included in the material.

Outcome

In less than twenty minutes on December 2, 1993, five people—including Winterborne—died during the shooting spree and related pursuit.

Aftermath

Officer Jim O'Brien

Sgt. James O'Brien was buried with full police honors, including a 21-gun salute by the Los Angeles Police Department's honor guard.

The material attributes the following remarks to Oxnard Police Chief Harold Hurtt: "That Jim O’Brien gave his life as part of his commitment to public service humbles all of us gathered here today," and: "He was a person like you and me. He had a family, he had many friends, and he had hopes for the future - all of which were cut short by a mindless act of violence."

The material says more than 10,000 people turned out on Dec. 7, 1993.

It says another 5,000 people lined streets and freeway bridges along the route of the five-mile-long motorcade carrying O'Brien to his final resting place at Santa Clara Cemetery in Oxnard.

The material says the Rev. Liam Kidney officiated at the funeral Mass and described O'Brien as a "cop's cop."

It gives the Rev. Liam Kidney quote: "He loved being a cop," and: "He loved being where the action was. Being a policeman was his life."

The material says O'Brien was the third officer of the Oxnard Police Department killed in the line of duty since October 1971.

It provides O'Brien’s birth date and place as July 30, 1958, in Long Beach, and says he was a longtime Ventura County resident.

The material states he was awarded the Medal of Valor by the Peace Officers' Association of Ventura County in 1991 for saving the life of a resident in La Colonia.

The material lists O'Brien’s memberships as: the Oxnard Peace Officers' Association, Ventura County Peace Officers' Association, Peace Officers' Research Association of California, and California Narcotics' Officer Association.

It also states O'Brien attended California Lutheran University and was a graduate of Ventura College and Hueneme High School.

Documents left at the newspaper

The material says that about a half-hour before the rampage, Alan Winterborne left documents with The Ventura Star-Free Press detailing his search for work.

It says the documents included job applications and 288 letters to every major employer in the county.

The envelope left at the newspaper included a transcript of his appeal to an administrative law judge on Dec. 3, 1986.

In the transcript, the material says Alan Winterborne told the judge he quit Northrop, where he worked on a missile contract, out of fear for his personal safety, but could not elaborate because of Government secrecy.

Other details

People named in relation to the incident

• Richard Bateman, described as a 65-year-old retired businessman visiting the agency on behalf of a nonprofit group.
• Phillip Villegas, described as a 43-year-old clerk who had started at the unemployment office as a volunteer.
• Anna Velasco, described as a 42-year-old worker.
• Sgt. James O'Brien, described as an Oxnard police detective and father of two young children.
• David Keith, an Oxnard police spokesman.
• Timm Herdt, opinion page editor of the Star-Free Press.
• Avelina Villalobos, office manager in Oxnard for the employment department.
• Robert J. Lagamarsino, described as then an incumbent Congressman representing California's 19th Congressional District.
• Harold Hurtt, Oxnard Police Chief.
• Liam Kidney, described as the Rev. who officiated at the funeral Mass.
• Mark Nollinger, named as author of a section included in the material.

Weapons and vehicles described

The material described the use of:

• a .12 gauge shotgun
• a Smith & Wesson Classic .44 magnum revolver
• a Browning .300 deer-hunting rifle
• a Ruger Mini-14

It described a tan 1978 Dodge Aspen used by Alan Winterborne.

Police spokesman and uncertainty about motive

The material says police were uncertain what set off Mr. Winterbourne and said their first review of the documents revealed nothing that gave insight as to motive.