Anonymous
Source: District Attorney of Santa Barbara County
Santa Barbara County District Attorney Joyce E. Dudley announced that on January 22, 2019, a Santa Barbara jury found Kahlil Byers, 24, guilty of Kidnapping for purposes of sexual assault and Sodomy by use of force. The jury also found true the special allegations that the defendant inflicted great bodily injury upon the victim, and that the defendant committed the above sexual offenses having kidnapped the victim.
Additionally, the jury found the defendant guilty of committing commercial burglaries of both Foot Locker and Santa Barbara Jewelry and Loan.
The defendant is now facing a sentence of 51 years and four months to life. The defendant will be sentenced by the Honorable Judge James Herman on April 17, 2019 in Department 1 of the Santa Barbara Superior Court.
On April 18, 2018, at approximately 4:00 a.m., Jane Doe, who is homeless, was sleeping in an entryway to a building off of East Carrillo Street. The defendant, a stranger to her, woke her up and began talking to her. Fearful, she quickly gathered her belongings and tried to walk away. The defendant immediately followed her, and she began running. He caught her and dragged her by her wrists and hair down a driveway. He then placed her behind a trash dumpster, where he savagely beat and forcibly sexually assaulted her.
At approximately 5:00 a.m., a car parked near the area startled the defendant. This gave Jane Doe an opportunity to escape. She immediately stopped a moving vehicle being driven by a good Samaritan. Jane Doe told the good Samaritan that she had been beaten and raped. Together they called 911.
Jane Doe sustained a fractured left orbital bone, a fractured left cheek bone, and multiple fractures to her nose. She had a severe laceration to her upper lip that required 23 sutures to repair, and a laceration about her right eyebrow that also required sutures to close.
During the course of the investigation, detectives learned that the defendant had committed burglaries at Foot Locker and Santa Barbara Jewelry and Loan earlier that morning. Due to the thorough investigation led by the Santa Barbara Police Department, specifically Detectives Douglas Klug, Megan Harrison, and Chad Hunt, the defendant was identified, located, and arrested within hours of the sexual assault.
Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Karapetian praised the jury stating, “The jury’s verdict is a testament to the fact that all victims will be treated equally, regardless of their socio-economic status or mental state.”
District Attorney Joyce E. Dudley commended DDA Karapetian for her outstanding prosecution of this difficult and terrifying case, stating, “Because of DDA Karapetian and her stellar team, Jane Doe can now begin her healing process knowing that justice has been served, in that the defendant is facing life in prison.”
Past Articles
- May 3, 2018 – Alleged Burglar Arrested for Kidnapping and Rape
Byers (the convicted rapist) is only 24 years old? His handiwork on her, the victim: “fractured left orbital bone, a fractured left cheek bone, and multiple fractures to her nose. She had a severe laceration to her upper lip that required 23 sutures to repair, and a laceration about her right eyebrow that also required sutures to close.”
Sounds like he mean’t to kill her..
What a scary waste of a human being. 51 years to life is not sufficient to keep the rest of humanity safe from It.
What a creep this guy is. If he serves a whole 51 years he’ll be 76 when his time is up. Can’t believe what he did was worth it.
Poor girl I hope she is able to find help to get off the street. He should get life
Well. His life certainly took a wrong turn at some point in time. 51 years? Sounds like a death sentence to me.
They are probably protesting to keep him out of jail altogether right now.
Dont worry the dems will let him out in 7 years.
Terrible crime but a 51 years is effectively a life sentence for brutal assualt and a few burglaries seems pretty heavy handed. Maybe he can get help and reformation in prison and be paroled before he loses his whole life.
Agree with Roger.
CONCERNED4CALIF – I think you forgot rape and kidnapping….. smh
Society needs him out-of-commission. He should get at least that for other people’s protection. Someone who has shown his true colors as he has, doesn’t have any capacity for telling right from wrong. That won’t change, but he could learn to be more evasive and fool a parole board whatever their political leanings. (Why some of us turn everything into a political statement is annoying.)
there’s no place in society for violent sexual assault. it might not be humane but chemical castration should be a thing this type of offender, like neutering an aggressive dog… it would make interactions with his handlers for the next 51 years a lot safer.