Additional Simi Valley gang members have been arrested nearly seven months after the brutal stabbing of a rival gang member in Moorpark.

Reynaldo Munoz, a documented member of the Moorpark street gang “MPLS,” nearly died after being stabbed 14 times during a confrontation with a group of Varrio Simi Valley (“VSV”) gang members on May 10.

VSV gang members Gabriel Hernandez, 19, Efren Roman Esparza, 25, and Michael Alfred Roman, 29, have been charged in the last week with attempted murder and street terrorism. Four more gang members were charged with being accessories after the fact and street terrorism.

Turk Rangel, 18, and James Hodgkins, 19—also VSV gang members—were arrested in September for the same crimes.

At about 9:40 p.m. May 10, two Varrio Simi Valley gang members confronted Munoz, 27, in the parking lot of a shopping center in the 100 block of W. Los Angeles Avenue in Moorpark and challenged him to fight, according to police reports. Munoz accepted and confronted the pair with a shovel. A larger group of VSV members appeared and jumped Munoz.

“They came in contact with each other, and they obviously don’t get along because they’re rival gang members,” said Detective Allen Devers of the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department. “The situation just escalated into a stabbing.”

Munoz was left bleeding on the ground with 14 stab wounds to his head, face and torso. He also had a fractured right forearm and other injuries. He was treated at Los Robles Hospital. Had deputies not been nearby, police said, Munoz would likely have bled to death.

Nine of the suspected 12 involved in the stabbing have been arrested. Three arrests were made in the last week after investigators served several search warrants at locations in Simi Valley and Los Angeles.

Two more VSV members are wanted for attempted murder— Israel Rudy Esparza, 22, and an unidentified 16-year-old male.

Erik Michael Burch, 27, is still wanted for being an accessory after the fact and for street terrorism.

The ongoing investigation is a multi-agency operation, with assistance from the Moorpark Special Enforcement Unit, members of the East County Major Crimes Unit and officers from the Simi Valley Police Department.

Contact Detective Devers at (805) 494-8222 with information about the crime or additional suspects.