SANTA BARBARA, California – Three people have been arrested as suspects in connection with a double murder in January in Santa Barbara’s Eastside.
Santa Barbara police and police have arrested three suspects in the shooting of Angel Castillo and Omar Montiel-Hernandez, who were shot dead near Liberty Street and South Soledad Street. Two others were injured in the January 3 shooting.
A 26-year-old man, a 25-year-old man and an 18-year-old man were arrested as part of the investigation, according to a press release from the Santa Barbara police station. All three men are residents of Carpinteria.
The three men are facing charges of murder due to special allegations that the murders were committed in collaboration with a criminal street gang.
As part of the investigation, warrants were served on Thursday at various locations along the south coast. Police and members of the sheriff’s SWAT team served warrants at two houses in the 1000 block of Cramer Road in Carpinteria and a house under construction in the 2300 block of Golden Gate Avenue in Somerland. The Carpinteria warrants called for a shelter-in-place assignment to locals arriving around 10 a.m. Canceled
According to the Summerland testimony, workers and others were detained with guns until the suspects were handcuffed.
In both places, numerous heavily armed officers were used along with two special vehicles.
Residents outside said they were surprised, but did not say whether they suspected anyone close to them was involved in a major crime.
“The arrests today represent the culmination of weeks of planning and investigative work,” said Santa Barbara Police Chief Bernard Melekian. “While we realize that nothing we have done here can bring back the lost lives, detectives have never stopped working on this case and hopefully prevent future retaliation that in turn leads to more tragedy. As a society, we must continue to deal with the young people in our community to work together to ensure that no more lives are lost. ”
The three suspects were booked into Santa Barbara County Jail where they are being held without bail. The investigation is continuing and there is currently no more information available, police said.