Fugitive Sentenced in 1998 Ventura Restaurant Owner’s Killing

The killing followed a failed plan to abduct Arambula and demand money over an alleged debt. On June 13, 1998, Manuel Vasquez, then 20, and William David Hampton Jr., then 19, went to Arambula’s home at the direction of poker club owner Jose Alberto Vasquez. They held Arambula’s wife and children captive while he was away. When he returned, a confrontation followed, and Hampton shot him dead. The two men escaped.

Hampton and Jose Alberto Vasquez were sentenced in 1999 to life in prison without parole. Manuel Vasquez escaped to Mexico before authorities filed charges and remained at large until his arrest in 2023. He was brought back to Ventura County in April 2025.

Now 48, Manuel Vasquez pleaded guilty to first-degree murder on September 30. On November 2, a judge sentenced him to 25 years to life in state prison. The judge also required him to compensate several of Arambula’s relatives.

Defense attorney Christopher Chaney said Vasquez had taken responsibility and felt remorse. “Nothing can undo what Mr. Arambula’s family has lost,” Chaney said, adding that he hoped the resolution would offer them some peace.

Senior Deputy District Attorney John Barrick said the family had continued to believe all those responsible would face prosecution, despite the nearly three-decade wait. He also credited Ventura police with work on the case.