Mother Hears Shot, Finds Son, 26, Slain in Simi Bedroom

SIMI VALLEY — The city tallied its first homicide of 1998 early Saturday morning, when a mother heard a gunshot in her 26-year-old son’s bedroom and discovered him shot through the head.

Juan Carlos De La Cruz, a construction worker who lived with his parents and siblings, died at 3:37 a.m. at Simi Valley Hospital, according to the Ventura County coroner’s office.

Simi Valley police, who are considering the shooting a homicide, say they have no suspects or motive for the crime, which occurred about 2:30 a.m. in the 1900 block of Arcane Street, a quiet, working-class neighborhood that includes Grace Brethren Elementary School. “The mother didn’t have a clue who did this,” said Sgt. Andy McCluskey.

Saturday afternoon, the family’s driveway was filled with cars, but a woman who answered the door declined to comment.

Police Sgt. Karl Becker said the assailant probably knew De La Cruz, adding that police do not suspect any family members in the house. At this point, police also are not linking the death to any gang activity. Authorities would not say what kind of weapon was used.

According to Becker, there was no forced entry into the home or De La Cruz’s bedroom, where he was found lying on the floor. His room showed no signs of struggle, police said.

This is the first homicide in Simi Valley in almost a year. In May, 44-year-old Ahmad Salman of Hope Street turned a hunting rifle on his wife, 5-year-old twins and 3-year-old son in a depressed rage.

For the first part of last year, Simi Valley ranked as the nation’s safest city with a population of more than 100,000, according to FBI statistics. It also won that low-crime accolade in 1993 and 1996.

The death shocked De La Cruz’s next-door neighbor.

“This is a real surprise,” said Barry Jones, who said the De La Cruz family had moved in last summer. “I never thought anything like this would be so close to home.”

He described De La Cruz as an “extraordinarily talented” artist who created pencil drawings of people.

“He and his family were quiet, hard workers,” Jones said. “Whenever I was out there, he [Juan Carlos] made it a point to say hello. . . . There were never any bad elements hanging around the house.”