Santa Barbara Police have arrested three men and three women-all Santa Barbara residents-for the alleged stabbing murder of 22-year-old Baldemar Leal, found on the street Sunday morning. While police suggest the incident was not gang-related, all six arrested for the murder -Michel Flores and Imelda Guevara, both 30; Andrew Balderaz, 35; Lilliana Arryaga, 18; Jonathon Alonzo, 20; and David Martinez, 21-are associated with an area gang. Duarte also said detectives will ask the District Attorney’s Office to consider filing gang enhancement charges. Leal died from stab wounds to the upper torso on the same block that he had moved to just days earlier: the 400 block of De la Vina Street. None of the witnesses to the Saturday-night assault reported it to police. Leal’s body was discovered just before 7 a.m. Sunday. Investigators are unsure how many times Leal was stabbed or when he died. (/leal226)
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Four men have been freed after previously being suspected of murdering Adam Cervantes Ruiz in connection with last year’s large-scale marijuana bust along Highway 1 near Lompoc. Horacio Sanyoto, Dimas Santoyo, Servando Cabrero, and Jose Villa-Cervantes were released after the prosecution’s key witness refused to testify truthfully. Ruiz’s body was found in 2008 alongside Highway 154, dead of a gunshot.
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This original article involved a man who plead no contest to assault, but content has been removed because the charges were retroactively dismissed and his record cleared by judges order pending successful completion of probation. If more information is required or requested, please contact executive editor Nick Welsh: nick@independent.com.
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The murder trial of Luis Sosa for the 2006 killing of Frank Tacadena saw multiple witnesses last week, including Thomas Sosa, the defendant’s uncle, who testified that Sosa had admitted to committing the murder. The trial continues on 2/26 and through next week. (/tacadena226)
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Laura Schlesinger-syndicated radio talk show host, Santa Barbara resident, and sailing enthusiast-was suspended from participating in yachting competitions by the Performance Handicap Racing Fleet (PHRF) for three months for racing a boat that had a door and a bladder to make it faster. She’d won several races with it. Schlesinger claimed she had bought and sold the boat in its modified state. The current owner alerted PHRF to the infraction. “I sailed on an illegal boat without knowing,” said Schlesinger, in an email released by her publicist. “I had no desire to cheat, but ‘stuff’ happens.”