Police Announce Additional Arrests in Stearns Wharf Murder
By the Santa Barbara Police Department
Following the January 19th arrest of four suspects in Santa Barbara who were involved in the murder of Mr. Robert Gutierrez on December 9, 2022, at the base of Stearns Wharf, detectives continued their investigation to identify and bring to justice additional involved suspects.
On February 16, 2023, the Santa Barbara Police Department, assisted by several outside agencies, served search and arrest warrants at multiple locations in Los Angeles County and Ventura County. Three juveniles were arrested. Two are in custody for 187 PC, Murder and the third is in custody for Possession of a firearm and Accessory to murder. A firearm was also recovered in [Thursday's] search and arrest warrants. It is not known at this time if the firearm recovered was used in the commission of this crime.
Mr. Robert Gutierrez, a Camarillo resident, was an innocent bystander who was in Santa Barbara with his wife walking on Stearns Wharf when he was struck and killed by one of the rounds fired during an altercation between two groups of individuals at the base of the wharf.
One group involved in the altercation has been identified as local Santa Barbara area residents with ties to a local Santa Barbara street gang. The opposing group in the altercation has been identified as Ventura County residents with ties to Ventura County street gangs.
The Santa Barbara Police Department remains committed to ensuring every suspect that the evidence shows participated in the heinous murder of Mr. Gutierrez is prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
Anyone with information regarding this homicide investigation is asked to please call the Santa Barbara Police Department Detective Bureau at (805) 897-2347.
Three Juveniles Charged in Connection to the Stearns Wharf Homicide
Update by the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office
Santa Barbara County District Attorney John Savrnoch announced today that three juveniles have been charged in connection with the killing of Robert Gutierrez that occurred at Stearns Wharf on December 9, 2022.
Two of the juveniles, age 15, were charged with Murder in violation of Penal Code section 187(a) and with the special allegation that they discharged a firearm proximately causing death in violation of Penal Code section 12022.53(d). The third juvenile, age 16, was charged with being an accessory after the fact to the murder in violation of Penal Code section 32 and with illegal possession of an unregistered firearm in violation of Penal Code section 25850(a).
All three juveniles were arrested by Santa Barbara Police Department officers on Thursday, February 16, 2023. All remain in custody and are scheduled to be arraigned at the Santa Maria Juvenile Court on Tuesday, February 21, 2023.
RELATED ARTICLES
December 9, 2023:
January 19, 2023:
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January 19, 2023:
January 20, 2023: Sweeping Arrests Made in Stearns Wharf Homicide
31 Comments
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Feb 17, 2023 01:24 PMI wonder if they shot an sbpd in the neck and he died, maybe the police chief would consider that a gang problem? Guess us peasant central coast civilians don’t matter.
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Feb 18, 2023 10:12 AMYep. Shame on SBPD for how they have spun this and delayed giving details to the public. This is a departmental failure.
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Feb 17, 2023 01:58 PMWait....... I thought we were just told we don't have a "gang problem?"
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Feb 17, 2023 04:33 PMThere is a gang problem...
But don't let the tourists know.
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Feb 17, 2023 04:42 PMApparently the "New" chief feels it's just kids being kids?
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Feb 17, 2023 06:00 PMThis should be national news. I'm so ashamed of our local government for burying information about the innocent bystander who was killed here. They didn't need to provide details about their investigation, other than to say that it WAS GANG RELATED, but they hid details about the killing that happened here. Not just from locals but from tourists who came here during the holiday season. That's unacceptable! People need to know what the crime stats are in places that they go to visit. If we really cared this much about tourism then our city needs to do MORE to provide a safe place for them to come to since keeping us locals safe and informed isn't a priority.
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Feb 18, 2023 12:06 PMSBSAND - The Gutierrez murder should be national news? Why? Please explain why this should be national news. You write the cops "didn't need to provide details" other than it was gang related and write in the same sentence "they [cops] hid details." IMO to report this shooting was gang related gives the gang members an edge. To report gang involvement I'll guess members of the gang would become (more) guarded in what they say and do about the incident. This reduces the chance for the cops to get information. Of course the cops did not disclose details about their ongoing investigation. What if cops reported to the public they were looking for three additional people to arrest. Don't you think this (might) somehow screw up their ability to make the three additional arrests. If you knew you were one of the three or more involved what would you do? Stick around town to get arrested? A local publisher has also complained in the past about cops not releasing information. Yet, in their 2-17 publication its reported they learned additional arrests were imminent but (didn't post) what they knew. No doubt they didn't want to mess up the investigation. They did no more or less than what the cops do during their investigation. Otherwise, why didn't they report to the public that cops were about to make three more arrests? Time to get off the cops back and let them do their thing. Understand they will release information as soon as they can.
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Feb 18, 2023 12:46 PMI agree with you Doulie. I do believe the SBPD (and all police departments) need to do better in terms of transparency and de-escalation tactics, but with this one I think people are making a mountain out of a molehill. Noozhawk specifically is trying to make themselves important but it's annoying and falling on deaf ears. They know more than anyone that details in active investigations are kept close until most suspects are apprehended. And if they're going to throw heat on anyone, why not the Sheriff's Office that is 10000x more shady than the P.D. Unless they're chummy with Bill Brown.
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Feb 18, 2023 03:51 PMWe are a major tourist destination. People come here with their children and the pier is a big lure with the ice cream and candy shop and the Sea Center. There was a gang fight WITH GUNS there that resulted in a tourist being killed. We weren't even locally told he died until arrests were made. His poor family had to wait to bury him. The entire thing is disgusting, starting with it happening in the 1st place but if you think that it is ok that our local police chief didn't want anyone to even know that the person who was shot on the pier had died. That is not ok! Fine, don't say it's gang-related because we don't have a gang problem. Yeah, ok. SB has the resemblance of being safe for tourists but it's a lie.
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Feb 18, 2023 03:54 PMI'm not bashing SBPD either, I'm upset with leadership and the secrecy about the real issues that we have in this town. A couple of years ago another gang shooting happened on the East Side and a guy driving his car was shot. He crashed into the driveway of the apartment complex my son and daughter-in-law lived in and he died. The frequency of gun-related violence amongst local and out-of-town gangs in SB seems to have increased but let's not talk about it....
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Feb 18, 2023 07:07 PMSBSAND - I haven't read yet where you wrote why this shooting incident should have been national news. In Gutierrez' funeral notice (Camarillo) there was no mention he was shot in SB, only that he "passed away in Santa Barbara, CA." Where did you learn his "family had to wait to bury him." Was a reason cited?
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Feb 18, 2023 07:15 PMSBSAND - I haven't read yet where you replied why this shooting incident should have been national news. In Gutierrez' funeral notice (Camarillo) there was no mention he was shot in SB, only that he "passed away in Santa Barbara, CA." Where did you learn his "family had to wait to bury him?" Was a reason cited?
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Feb 19, 2023 07:54 AMDo more research, it is not my job to convince you of anything, but it IS my option to state my opinion and you getting so upset about it is not going to change how I feel. That's the nice thing about opinions, we are all entitled to have our own. What makes me different is that I don't care if people agree with me or not so there really is no point in you trying to start a fight, cuz you won't get one. Peace out
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Feb 19, 2023 07:18 PMSBSAND - I'm not upset about anything you write. As you say, we are all entitled to an opinion. But, relative to Gutierrez you wrote, "His poor family had to wait to bury him." This reads more like a statement of fact than an opinion. If this is a true statement all I'm asking is for your source and if a reason for the delay was cited. Is your statement about the delay true or do you consider it an opinion of yours?
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Feb 17, 2023 09:57 PMPerhaps the only thing the right and left can agree upon is that it has become common-place for the "powers that be" to spin the truth beyond recognition. Trust is only regained by telling the truth, as clearly and as completely as you can.
City and police leadership? M. I. A. About a million miles south of that standard of truthfulness.
What about when it's hard to tell the truth cause some /other/ folks "might get the wrong idea" or something? ... As Twain said: "Do the right thing. It will gratify some people and astonish the rest. "
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Feb 18, 2023 09:07 AMTry them as adults. This is a bit above "childrens" play.
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Feb 18, 2023 06:09 PMThis may be the most asinine comment on this item. You do not judge the adultness of a child by the result of their conduct. We know that pre-adult brains do not process like fully formed ones. Whether it is stealing a candy bar or firing a gun, they do not "get it" yet. This is the basis for treating younger people differently. It is not the result of their act that makes that determination.
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Feb 18, 2023 10:08 AMThe headline is questionable. "Murder" requires specific intent. If, as stated in the police summary, the victim was shot incidentally while the others engaged in a confrontation and fight. Generally such is likely to be either voluntary manslaughter or maybe second degree homicide with intent proven by willful and reckless conduct. (Murder is different from homicide. Homicide is the killing of another human by a human without ascribing guilt--could be intentional, permissible, consensual, accidental, privileged, and so forth.)
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Feb 18, 2023 10:11 AMA reasonable person would say that intentionally shooting a gun into a populated area would expectedly result in someone being killed. That is murder.
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Feb 18, 2023 01:44 PMIntentionally shooting a gun into a crowded area is a text book description of willful and wanton act which will give rise to a second degree murder conviction at most. It really does not matter what you think "a reasonable person" would say (and I don't agree that they would say that) as much as it matters what the informed legislature and hundreds of years of common and statutory law have developed. We have these rules and processes exactly to stop hot heads from extracting such "justice" as you seem to be hoping for.
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Feb 18, 2023 05:20 PMThe "reasonable person" is a judicial tool used to interpret laws. I'm not saying it depends on what Joe down the street would say.
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Feb 18, 2023 10:09 AMI feel the police purposely kept details out of the media until time had passed. That's a disservice to all of us. For the police chief to then come out and say, unprovoked, that we "don't have a gang problem," adds insult to injury.
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Feb 18, 2023 10:41 AMIt's quite humorous to see all the SB busybodies up in arms trying to tell SBPD how to do their investigations. Were not numerous people arrested eventually? Is it hard to understand that release of information would of possibly compromise the ongoing investigation that resulted in all the arrests? You tell me...how could it be handled differently? And as far as is there a gang problem in SB? People it is 2023, there are gangs in every city in this nation. Believe me, as a person who has lived in other cities where there TRULY is a gang problem such as Oxnard and LA, YOU HAVE NO MAJOR GANG PROBLEM HERE! Relax and enjoy this beautiful city! And Bill M....you should be ashamed of yourself the way you go after SBPD without thinking of the consequences. Your reminding me more and more of Fox News.
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Feb 18, 2023 10:54 AMHere’s the facts: Gang shootout at Stearns Wharf. Innocent tourist gets killed in the crossfire. SBPD hesitates to release information about the crime. SB is a very tourist-reliant city economically. And lastly, SB has a growing public sentiment of being antagonistic to our police officers (remember, they are people just like you) - the “defund the police” crowd. You know who you are. Thrown in the ultra liberal state we live in where criminals get chance after chance ti get outta jail free, and this kind of crime won’t stop anytime soon.
We’ve set up a situation where the cops have a no win situation. Don’t blame them, the officers on the street I mean. If anything, blame the mayor and sure, also the Chief. Take a look at who you voted for and their policies on crime in past elections. Then think forward.
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Feb 18, 2023 02:25 PM"Defund the police" is not antagonistic against the police. Please get your facts straight. Defunding the police allows the police to spend more time responding to actual crime, and less time dealing with mental health and homeless issues that can be better solved by non-law enforcement folks. It's a win all around, including for the police. Not to mention, it has nothing to do with this topic. Give it a rest.
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Feb 18, 2023 11:48 AMIt's high time for some to stop actually believing that these very real crimes are some sort of television show. Expecting crimes to be investigated by the SBPD and solved within an hour with commercial breaks every 12 minutes or so simply is not how things work. Instead of being emotional about crime, LE has to look at the cold hard facts and take into account legal aspects. Knee-jerk reactions are not helpful, and neither is telling LE how to do their job because of how you "feel." Just let them do their job and stay the heck out of it unless you yourself are involved in some shape, form, or matter.
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Feb 18, 2023 05:21 PMHuh? You have the strangest interpretation of this discussion. No one is expecting crimes to be solved in an hour, nor is anyone telling the SBPD how to investigate.
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Feb 18, 2023 07:02 PMI look at things objectively and not prone to group thinking. A strange interpretation of this article, in my opinion, would be to say that everyone is satisfied with how the SBPD has handled their public comments. It's obvious, to me, that some folks want their information now/now/now/yesterday. If that's a strange interpretation, then so be it. If you require that others agree with you, well, I just can't go along with it in my heart. I will, for the sake of getting along, simply tell you to your face that I agree with you as to not "upset the cart." So, we all have that going for us I believe.
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Feb 18, 2023 11:55 AMAh, to be 16 again: getting my drivers license, Friday night at the Airport Drive in at $3.50 per carload, hanging out at the beach, trying to meet girls staying at the Miramar and getting chased off by Jacques, randomly shooting guns at people. Yep, them were the days.
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Feb 19, 2023 04:10 PMNice little fight with knives earlier at Shoreline with folks fleeing onto SBCC's property. But we don't have a gang issue here.
https://www.facebook.com/380479575/permalink/506122835821/?mibextid=Nif5oz
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Feb 20, 2023 08:40 AMSome investigative articles about the December shooting and the Mayor's response from yesterday. https://www.noozhawk.com/santa-barbara-mayor-issues-statement-on-dec-9-tourist-murder-case/