Man Arrested for Stabbing Woman at Ortega Park

Santa Barbara Police arrested a man under the influence of drugs for stabbing a woman at Ortega Park early Tuesday morning.

At 4:43 a.m., officers responded to a call of a bloody female down on the ground near the intersection of Quarantina and Ortega Streets.

A woman was found with stab wounds and was transported to the hospital. She is expected to survive.

Detectives investigated the assault with a deadly weapon and determined this was not a random attack but rather the involved parties were known to one another. Detectives served a search warrant at the crime scene and located additional evidence, according to Public Information Officer Anthony Wagner.

After lengthy follow-up interviews at the police department and hospital, suspect Emelio Hernandez, age 43, was booked for 245 PC (assault with a deadly weapon), 11550(a) H&S (under the influence of meth), 11378 H&S (possession for sales of meth), and 529 PC (false government documents). 

Overnight stabbing of a Female victim in Ortega Park. I caught the tail end of the investigation, Police are interviewing witnesses for a Code 245pc: Assault with a deadly weapon. There are barricades up and it sounds like limited access to the park.