It was a chilling case that went unsolved for two decades.
Dennis Wood was brutally murdered by a gunman in his own home in Moorpark in 2004, and investigators could not find a motive.
It took a confession from the gunman, Alex Bracamonte, implicating his former boss, Antoine Nehme, in ordering the murder of Dennis Wood for financial gain.
Wood, who owned a prepaid phone card business, had given Nehme $28,700 in cash for an unknown business venture. At the time, Nehme owned a gas station in Ojai where he had purchased prepaid phone cards from Wood. Rather than repay his debt, Nehme arranged for Wood to be killed to wipe out what he owed.
After hearing evidence from Bracamonte, a jury found Nehme guilty of murder, conspiracy to commit a crime, and solicitation of murder. The jury also found true the special allegation that Nehme ordered the killing for financial gain. Additionally, Judge Paul Baelly found that the crime involved great violence and was carried out with planning, sophistication, or professionalism.
"The family must have thought it was never going to come," Senior Deputy District Attorney John Barrick, a member of the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office Major Crimes Homicides Unit, who prosecuted the case, told KCLU on Tuesday.
"Nobody could have imagined that Dennis Wood's business dealings with a gas station owner in Ojai would ultimately cost him his life," said Barrick.
“Dennis Wood was a good and honorable man who didn’t deserve to die the way he did. I am glad Dennis’ family was able to see his murderers finally brought to justice after 21 long years.”
Already serving time for a 2006 Los Angeles murder, Bracamonte was charged with Wood’s killing and pleaded guilty on May 8, 2024. He was sentenced on May 7, 2025, to 15 years to life for the murder of Wood. That sentence is being served consecutively to the Los Angeles County case.
