Bill Macfadyen: Santa Barbara Caught in Crime Warp | Local News
Noozhawk’s top story deserves way more coverage — and commentary — than our news team and I have been able to get in the past week.
No matter how you look at it, the chain of events is a monstrous atrocity whose consequences our community must honestly and openly confront.
Editor-in-chief Tom Bolton will have additional coverage of the case next week, and I’ll be sharing some of my own observations as editor of Noozhawk over the weekend.
According to our Google Analytics, Noozhawk had an audience of 96,912 readers in the last seven days.
Whether you’re new to these Best of Bill columns or have read them every Friday for the past 15 years, please know that this is my weekly commentary, rounding up the top 5 stories of the period.
The opinions expressed are my own.
For the second straight week, our most-read story was Noozhawk’s account of the arrests of five suspects in the Jan. 19 murder of 52-year-old Camarillo resident Rob Gutierrez.
Gutierrez was gunned down on the night of January 9 near Santa Barbara’s famous Dolphin Family Statue and Stearns Wharf. Eleven days later he died of his wounds.
Ignoring Noozhawk’s repeated requests for information, the Santa Barbara police didn’t reveal his identity — or even his death — until last week when the department emailed a brief statement announcing the arrests.
There are so many annoying elements to this tragic story, starting with the suspects’ alleged Westside gang connections.
I went into some detail in last week’s Best of Bill column and will have more to say in a separate follow-up column that we will publish over the weekend.
But enough about crime.
Gutierrez, a healthcare professional who worked in the assisted living field, is survived by his wife Gerallie and their daughters Ariana and Carisa.
He was buried at Conejo Mountain Memorial Park after a funeral mass on Jan. 24 at Padre Serra Parish, the family’s church in Camarillo.
The devout Catholic’s services came more than a month after his death and five days after his alleged killers were arrested.
A GoFundMe account, which for some reason was not created until December 27 to help Gutierrez’s family, had raised nearly $44,000 by January 27. Click here to donate online.
Dave and Cynthia Reynoso get into the ice cream business with Dave’s Drip House Ice Cream & Cereal Bar. Credit: Joshua Molina / Noozhawk photo
Dave Reynoso, owner and founder of Santa Barbara’s popular Dave’s Dogs Grill, has added a unique new ice cream concept to his repertoire of gourmet hot dogs.
As reported by our Josh Molina, Dave’s Drip House Ice Cream & Cereal Bar has opened at the Turnpike Shopping Center at 193 S. Turnpike Road, near Dave’s Dogs and across from San Marcos High School.
“You can take any flavor of ice cream and mix it with any type of cereal to create your own flavor,” Reynoso told Josh.
“We also make funnel cakes with different toppings and granola.”
He didn’t need to mention funnel cakes; He had me by the ice cream. But now that it’s out there, I’ll be right over.
Of course, in the age of social media, the Drip House is dripping with Instagram-worthy backdrops, like a custom-made swinging Neapolitan ice cream sandwich, old-fashioned classic pink payphones, a “Brr” ice cream cone, a “Lick Me “I’m Dripping” Ice cream cone sign and strawberry strudel bottoms.
A 60-year-old Santa Barbara woman – who lives just down the street from Noozhawk World Headquarters – has been arrested for attempted murder after allegedly getting into some sort of confrontation with a neighbor.
Police Sgt. Ethan Ragsdale told our Tom Bolton that Christine Marie Shelton was taken into custody on the afternoon of January 15 at 3700 Block of Monterey Pines Street in an apartment complex across from the Santa Barbara Family YMCA.
Details were not given, although a male resident of the complex appeared to be the alleged victim.
“It appears the call came from a dispute between neighbors,” said Ragsdale, adding that no one was injured in the incident.
Shelton was charged in Santa Barbara County Superior Court with the felony count of attempted murder, assault with a semi-automatic firearm, and threatening a felony with intent to terrorize.
She was also charged with carrying a loaded firearm and numerous criminal enhancements, according to court records.
On January 27, Shelton remained in the county jail on bail set at $1.1 million.
As mentioned above, I’ll have more to say in a separate column to be published in the next few days or so.
Three of four Santa Barbara men arrested as suspects in the attack on Rob Gutierrez have been charged with murder.
As our Giana Magnoli reported, on January 23, the Santa Barbara County Attorney’s Office filed murder and other charges against 22-year-old Jiram Tenorio Ramon, 21-year-old Christopher Dave Miranda and 20-year-old Ricardo Tomas Jauregui. Moreno.
The three are accused of killing Gutierrez for the benefit of the Westside criminal street gang, according to prosecutors’ complaint.
The complaint identifies Tenorio Ramon as the guy who pulled the trigger on Gutierrez, who police described as “an innocent bystander.”
The fourth man – 21-year-old James Lee Rosborough – was subsequently charged with complicity.
The four are being held without bail in the county jail and have appeared before the Supreme Court via Zoom. They are due to be charged on February 17.
According to the criminal complaint, all four men have:
Had verbally challenged a group of pedestrians while driving on Stearns Wharf
They stopped their vehicle to use two of their group to attack the group with a firearm
Fired a gun at the pedestrians, murdering Gutierrez
Fled the scene, two on foot and two in a vehicle
Returned to the scene with vehicles to pick up the two on foot to avoid arrest
The four defendants were also charged with conspiracy to commit a crime, street terrorism and criminal street gang conspiracy.
A 16-year-old man arrested as a juvenile in possession of a firearm has been admitted to District Juvenile Hall.
Incidentally, for those who’ve inquired, local law enforcement agencies have all but abandoned the practice of providing booking photos of criminal suspects. Noozhawk doesn’t suppress them.
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Good reads
These six stories are also worth reading:
» Volunteers work to rebuild Calvary Chapel Santa Barbara after flood damage — After experiencing their own great flood, members of Calvary Chapel Santa Barbara embarked on an awe-inspiring salvage mission. Staff writer Serena Guentz wades through the damage.
» Santa Barbara is promoting storm response, but wants to learn from it — After patting itself on the back for its Jan. 9 storm performance, the city of Santa Barbara says it still has lessons to learn. Staff writer Josh Molina reports on some of them.
» South Coast Deli loses its lease on the Chapala Street shop – South Coast Deli has served its last sandwich from its store at 1436 Chapala St. at the corner of West Micheltorena Street. Josh is there for the last bite.
» Storms washed away baby elephant seals in San Luis Obispo County – In another example of survival of nature’s fittest, San Luis Obispo Tribune reporter Christine Heinrichs learns that recent storms have taken a heartbreaking toll on baby elephant seals.
» Mark Patton: Abe Jahadhmy walked the path to become head of the royal court – Local legend Abe Jahadhmy has retired as San Marcos High’s longtime athletic director. Sports columnist Mark Patton notes that he won’t sit still for long.
» San Marcos puts together a solid game and beats Dos Pueblos in Battle of Channel League Water Polo Undefeated – Sports editor Barry Punzal keeps his computer dry as the undefeated San Marcos High boys’ water polo team makes a splash against their Cross Valley rivals.
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Last year on Noozhawk
What was our most read story this time last year? After 25 years, the Goleta Coffee Co. era is coming to an end.
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Bill Macfadyen’s Story of the Week
Another rain gauge: Why 2023 could be the year of the super bloom.
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The best of Bill’s Instagram
Do I have recent baby photos of my grandson Nico? I’m so glad you asked. He’s been on my Instagram feed for the past week.
