SM police investigating homicide
SANTA MARIA —The Santa Maria Police Department is investigating a homicide that occurred Friday night on West Donovan Road.
Police responded to a report of a shooting in the 800 block of West Donovan Road shortly before 4:30 p.m. Upon arrival, authorities located a deceased victim, police said.
Detectives were on scene and actively investigating the shooting on Friday night.
No arrests have been made.
— Mitchell White
Man arrested on gun, drug charges
Numerous illegal drugs were seized following the service of the search warrant, including eight pounds of methamphetamine, one ounce of brown heroin, one ounce of tar heroin, and several grams of fentanyl. Authorities also seized several hundreds of rounds of ammunition and six firearms, including two assault rifles and a suppressed handgun.
LOMPOC — A Lompoc man was arrested earlier this week and is facing several drug and firearm charges, authorities said.
On Thursday, detectives from the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office Special Investigations Bureau served narcotics-related search warrants at residences in the 400 block of Capella Drive and the 200 block of Briar Creek Way in Lompoc, said Raquel Zick, sheriff’s spokeswoman.
Detectives seized illegal drugs as a result, including eight pounds of methamphetamine, one ounce of brown heroin, one ounce of tar heroin, and several grams of fentanyl.
In addition, authorities seized several hundreds of rounds of ammunition and six firearms, including two assault rifles and a suppressed handgun, Ms. Zick said.
John Carothers, 59, was arrested on suspicion of possession of methamphetamine for sale, possession of heroin for sale, possession of fentanyl for sale and numerous felony gun charges. The felony charges include possession of a firearm, possession of ammunition, possession of an assault weapon and possession of a silencer.
Mr. Carothers was booked at the Main Jail and is being held on $300,000 bail.
— Mitchell White
Man arrested in SM shooting
SANTA MARIA — A Guadalupe man was arrested Thursday in connection with a shooting that occurred Monday night and left one man in critical condition, police said.
Detectives with the Santa Maria Police Department’s Special Enforcement team served arrest and search warrants in Santa Maria, Guadalupe and Tanglewood on Thursday related to its investigation. Justin Orozco, 19, was arrested without incident on suspicion of attempted murder. He is being held on $1M bail, according to a department news release.
The shooting was reported around 7:30 p.m. Monday in the 200 block of West Williams Street. A man was transported to Marian Regional Medical Center and is listed in critical condition, police said.
An investigation is ongoing. Members of the public with any information on this crime can contact Detective Robbins at 805-928-3781 ext. 1361 or the tip line at 805-928-3781 ext. 2677.
— Mitchell White
No arrests made in probation wellness checks
Earlier this week, authorities conducted county-wide wellness checks on active probation clients, which yielded 30 contacts and zero arrests, authorities said.
The checks were conducted Thursday by the Santa Barbara County Probation Department in collaboration of the Office of the District Attorney, Victim Services Division. The operation focused on probationers where it was determined there were children, victims, or vulnerable adults in the home, said Karyn Milligan, spokeswoman for the county Probation Department.
The cases included incidents of domestic violence, child abuse, elder abuse, family violence, and where there was a child likely residing in the home. The operation covered the Santa Barbara, Santa Maria, Orcutt, Lompoc, and Goleta areas, Ms. Milligan said.
The operation included an assessment of the living environments, documentation of any needs of the probationer or family members, and a way to provide information on probation and community resources and to ensure client compliance with their terms and conditions of probations.
Wellness bags were handed out to each family and children, which included facemasks, hand sanitizer, sanitizing cloths, first aid kits, thermometers, stress balls and brochures for community resources. The child wellness bags were holiday themed and included popcorn, coloring books, crayons, puzzles and candy canes.
A total of 36 locations were visited and 30 contacts were made with no arrests. A total of 43 wellness bags were distributed.
Taking part in the operation were 20 deputy probation officers and three victim advocates from the District Attorney’s Office.
— Mitchell White
