19-year-old Ventura County man arrested for hitting two people with baseball bat: VCSO

A man was tied up with zip ties and set on fire with a gun by at least three people who stole his car in Northern California, the Sutter County Sheriff’s Office said. (Getty Images)

A 19-year-old man was arrested Wednesday for allegedly hitting a man and a woman with a baseball bat during an argument in Ojai.

Officers were called to the 300 block of East Ojai Avenue when someone reported seeing someone involved in a fight with a baseball bat around 12:15 p.m.

Arriving officers were informed that a verbal argument between three people, two men and a woman, had escalated into a physical altercation, the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office said in a press release.

The suspect, identified as Reef Matte of Ojai, struck the 23-year-old man and the 28-year-old woman with the bat, the sheriff’s department said.

It is unclear whether any of the victims were injured in the fight.

Matte was arrested and charged with suspicion of two counts of assault with a deadly weapon.

It was not disclosed what sparked the original dispute.

Anyone with further information is asked to contact Detective Joseph Sharif at 805-477-7038.