Santa Maria High gives all-clear after lockdown
Santa Maria High School was placed on lockdown for about one hour Monday morning after a report of a weapon on campus.
The administration issued the lockdown as a precautionary measure shortly before 11 a.m. Santa Maria police as well as school staff conducted a search with individuals in question but found the threats to be unfounded, according to Kenny Klein, the public information officer for Santa Maria Joint Union High School District.
By noon, the lockdown was lifted with all students and staff reported safe, Mr. Klein reported.
Lompoc man arrested for grand theft of fruit
A Lompoc man was arrested in Goleta Sunday for allegedly illegally harvesting avocados from a ranch.
The Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Office said Tim Rounds, 44, was found wearing a headlamp on his forehead and holding a basket of avocados near a car that had been stopped on the shoulder of the roadway in the 6900 block of Cathedral Oaks Road.
Police said a bag of methamphetamine was discovered on the dashboard of the vehicle and dozens of avocados in the trunk.
The owner of the ranch, when contacted, said Rounds did not have permission to harvest the avocados, the Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Office said.
Rounds was arrested for felony grand theft of fruit, misdemeanor possession of a controlled substance and misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia.
Rounds was booked at the Main Jail and released without bail. The avocados were returned to the ranch owner, police said.
Nipomo man dies in 101 crash
A 68-year-old Nipomo man was killed in a car crash on US-101 north of Main Street in Santa Maria Monday morning.
Officials said the man, whose identity was not released as of Monday evening, was traveling in a 2002 Honda CRV northbound on US-101. A 20-year-old from Santa Maria was also traveling northbound on US-101 in a 2007 Nissan 350Z.
Both vehicles collided due to an unsafe lane change, according to the California Highway Patrol. The Honda CRV overturned multiple times and traveled over the median wall dividing southbound and northbound lanes, according to police.
The driver of the Honda CRV was taken to Marian Regional Medical Center where he was pronounced dead.
The 20-year-old did not sustain any injuries in the collision.
California Highway Patrol said neither alcohol nor drugs appeared to be a factor in the crash, and no arrests have been made.
The crash occurred at about 9:43 a.m.
Oxnard man arrested for shooting during family dispute
Oxnard police arrested Kevin Manalo, 23, for allegedly shooting two people during a family dispute over the weekend.
Police responded to a report of a shooting in the 100 block of James Avenue in Oxnard Saturday morning shortly before noon.
A 27-year-old woman was suffering from a gunshot wound to the chest, and a 61-year-old man had two gunshot wounds in his leg, police said. Both were transported to Ventura County Medical Center in stable condition.
Manalo had been detained by other family members and was arrested by Oxnard police at the scene, officials said. A firearm was also recovered, police said.
Detectives with the Family Protection Unit and Major Crimes Unit said Manalo had retrieved a rifle and shot multiple rounds during an argument.
Police encouraged anyone with additional information to contact Detective Kevin Adair at 805-385-7663.
Firefighters rescue duckling in ‘Mother’s Day Reunion’
Santa Barbara County firefighters rescued a duckling Sunday that had gotten stuck in a storm drain in Orcutt.
Medic Engine 26’s crew freed the duckling and reunited it with its family for a morning swim in a nearby pool, according to Mike Eliason, the Santa Barbara County Fire Department public information officer.
Santa Maria Police investigating rollover crash
Santa Maria Police are investigating a rollover crash that seriously injured two people early Sunday morning.
Police said they were called to an area near Highway 135 and Broadway and Miller streets at about 1:22 a.m. Sunday where they found a single vehicle in the drainage ditch and vegetation area off the roadway.
The car was flipped on its roof and two occupants, a male and a female, appeared to have been ejected from the vehicle, police said. Both were transported to Marian Medical Center by ambulance with major injuries, and the woman was later airlifted to a Santa Barbara hospital, according to the Santa Maria Police Department.
The conditions of the two individuals were not immediately available as of Monday evening.
Police believe the vehicle was traveling northbound on Highway 135 north of Waller Lane when the driver lost control and left the roadway. The vehicle and occupants were located south of Miller Street.
Santa Maria Police is asking for assistance in the investigation. Individuals can call 805-928-3781 to provide any information.
Mother, son sentenced for conspiracy and identity theft in Ventura
Theresa Valdenegro, 46, and Samir Valdenegro, 21, were both sentenced to 180 days in Ventura County Jail along with 24 months of probation for conspiring to commit identity theft.
The pair is from Chile and are suspected members of a South American Theft Group, according to the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office.
The Valdenegros pled guilty in late March to conspiracy to commit identity theft and four counts of identity theft, according to Ventura County District Attorney Erik Nasarenko.
According to the District Attorney’s Office, the charges came after a purse was stolen from a victim’s shopping cart in Camarillo in January, and the victim’s credit cards were used at Best Buy stores in Oxnard and Thousand Oaks.
The Valdenegros were arrested at a Los Angeles hotel following an investigation by the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office Special Enforcement Unit. Police found gift cards, purses and other property believed to have been stolen as well as materials to manufacture fraudulent identifications inside the hotel room, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
The pair was sentenced on Friday.
– Kaitlyn Schallhorn
