The following is a summary of some cases handled by the Santa Barbara Police Department in the past week.
At 12:55 p.m. Thursday, officers went to an apartment in the 1200 block of East Mason Street to conduct a search. Living in the residence are Judith Zamora Lopez, 29, who is on active parole, as well as Louis Matthew Flores, 38, and Lopez’s 18-month-old child.
Lopez was passed out on the sofa, suspected of being under the influence of heroin. She wore a tightened baby’s burp cloth around her arm as a tourniquet.
The room was filthy, with uncapped syringes, opened beer cans, drug paraphernalia and an overloaded electrical cord all within reach of her toddler. Child Welfare Services responded and took legal custody of the child.
Lopez was arrested for being under the influence of heroin, possession of drugs and paraphernalia, and child endangering. Flores was arrested for being under the influence of heroin.
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At 5:53 p.m. Thursday, officers contacted a 20-year-old male stabbing victim at Cottage Hospital who sustained numerous superficial puncture wounds to his arms and abdomen. The man told police the attack took place near the horse-shoe pit at Oak Park.
He told police that a white sedan pulled up, and a male suspect approached and started punching him. As he fought back, a second suspect joined in. The victim had difficulty describing how he was stabbed other than to say he saw a silver item flashing in front of him. After the fight, the victim walked several blocks to Cottage Hospital’s emergency room. Police checked the described attack location at Oak Park but did not find corroborating evidence or witnesses.
The victim is an admitted gang associate with repeated confrontations with a rival gang. His parents told police he was stabbed in Goleta about a month ago, and SBPD records reflect he was stabbed in Santa Barbara in November.
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At 12:28 a.m. Saturday, officers went to a residence on La Cadena on a fight call. Police have been to this residence more than 30 times since January 2008.
Police determined that Salvador Lorenzo Navarro, 29, who has a history of bullying neighbors, had assaulted one of them. After drinking alcohol, Navarro went to a neighbor’s front yard and began yelling at him to come outside. The victim, a 54-year-old man, kept telling him to leave. Instead, Navarro went into the victim’s backyard and continued his taunts. After several minutes, the provoked victim went outside to escort Navarro off the premises. Instead, Navarro punched the victim several times in the face, knocking him down. He then kicked him several times in the ribs before leaving.
The victim was treated at Cottage Hospital for a broken nose, other facial fractures and three fractured ribs. Navarro sustained no noticeable injury but had what appeared to be the victim’s blood on his knuckles and clothing. He was uncooperative with the police investigation. He was booked for felony assault causing serious injury and violation of probation.
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At 8:40 p.m. Sunday, officers contacted another stabbing victim at Cottage Hospital, a 25-year-old male. He told police that the night before at 9 p.m., he purchased a case of beer from the Mi Fiesta Market at 410 S. Salinas St. Across the street from the market, he was surrounded by several male suspects described as gang members. They demanded his beer, but he refused to give it up. One suspect slashed him with a razor knife and the suspects fled.
The victim sustained a 4-inch long, deep wound to his left forearm. He walked home and didn’t seek medical aid until the next evening. The investigating officer obtained the victim’s statement and then went to the market to follow up. The clerk who was working the night before said he didn’t know anything about the incident. Just then, the victim showed up to buy another case of beer. He was turned down for being intoxicated. When asked to pinpoint the location of the assault, he gave vague directions that could not be corroborated.
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At 10:30 p.m. Monday, a parole agent called police to report that Ismael Ramirez, a known gang member, was wanted for parole violation.
Ramirez violated his parole by going onto a neighbor’s property. He had strict instructions not to go there because he had committed a crime against this neighbor in the past. Ramirez’s high-risk status required that he wear a GPS ankle bracelet at all times. The bracelet can alert if Ramirez goes anywhere he is prohibited, such as the neighbor’s property. Police arrested Ramirez without incident.
— Paul McCaffrey is public information officer for the Santa Barbara Police Department.