Five people have been arrested by the Santa Barbara Police Department in connection with a killing over the weekend on the city’s Eastside that is believed to be gang-related.
They are suspected in the death early Saturday of Alberto Suarez Torres, 29, of Santa Barbara on Cacique Street.
Igor R. Ortiz, 19, was booked into Santa Barbara County Jail Wednesday night on suspicion of murder, participating in a criminal street gang, vandalism and a probation detainer, according to Kelly Hoover, a Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman.
Also arrested were Angel R. Flores Barajas, 31, Adelaine L. Ibarra, 20, Alondra Ochoa, 18, and a female juvenile, according to Anthony Wagner, a police spokesman.
Ortiz, Barajas and Ibarra, were each being held at County Jail in lieu of $1 million bail, while Ochoa was being held without bail.
Information about the juvenile was not released because of her age.
District Attorney Joyce Dudley told Noozhawk that charges are expected to be filed and the suspects arraigned in Superior Court on Friday.
At 1:15 a.m. Saturday, multiple officers responded to Cacique Street, just off South Salinas Street and five blocks east of Milpas Street, after dispatchers received a 9-1-1 call reporting an assault , according to police.
Officers found Torres unconscious after he suffered multiple stab wounds, and began first aid until city firefighters and an American Medical Response ambulance arrived.
Torres was transported to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital, where he died of his wounds.
Police have been very tight-lipped about the case, and did not provide information about the arrests until Thursday evening.
“Because of the ongoing investigation, the Police Department is refraining from providing additional information at this time,” Wagner said.
— Noozhawk executive editor Tom Bolton can be reached at tbolton@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.