A jury in Santa Maria found a top-ranking Santa Barbara County gang leader guilty of kidnapping for extortion in his retrial on the charge for his role in a Lompoc case from 2013.
The jurors returned the verdict against Raymond Daniel Macias on Monday afternoon in Santa Barbara County Superior Court in Santa Maria before Judge Patricia Kelly.
The seven men and five women also found him guilty of special enhancements for use of a firearm and gang involvement.
The charge stems from a Jan. 3, 2013, incident in Lompoc that prompted the Santa Barbara County Grand Jury to hand down multiple indictments six months later.
Prosecutors contend Macias, also known as Boxer, was “the big homie” who oversaw collection of drug taxes in Santa Barbara County.
He is a member of the Santa Barbara-based Eastside Krazies, which authorities say is linked to Mexican Mafia Sureño gang.
The Macias case stems from the assault of Sicko, who was behind in his payments and hiding out from those trying to collect the money.
On Jan. 3, 2013, gang members took the victim to a Lompoc garage, where they beat him severely and broke his arm. At the request of prosecutors, Sicko’s identity is not being revealed.
Macias, who was represented by defense attorney Michael Scott, initially was charged with kidnapping for extortion, solicitation for extortion, torture and drug sales.
In late June, however, a jury failed to reach a verdict on the first two charges, prompting the judge to declare a mistrial for those counts.
Prosecutors chose to try Macias again on only the kidnapping for extortion charge and the retrial began in mid-August.
The judge ordered Macias to remain in custody with no bail plus set Nov. 5 for his sentencing for the latest conviction plus the earlier ones.
After Monday’s verdict, Senior Deputy District Attorney Ann Bramsen called Macias “one of the most dangerous individuals in our community.”
“I didn’t feel like 23 to life ensured a life sentence,” Bramsen said, noting early releases from state prisons due to overcrowding. “He’s now going to receive a life sentence without (parole) so he will never be out on our streets and never be able to victimize anyone again. “
This is one of several cases recently where county law enforcement agencies have targeted multiple defendants.
“It sends a message to the gangs and to the Mexican Mafia that in this county we’re not going to tolerate their criminal activity and we’re going to make sure that we do everything we can to prevent them from continuing to victimize our citizens,” Bramsen said.
Law enforcement officers have noted the arrests of Macias and his colleagues affected gang activities in the county, Bramsen said.
“When you take a leader out of his role it shakes up the organization, and so it does have an impact on their ability to be organized and their ability to coordinate their criminal activity,” Bramsen added.
She also praised law enforcement agencies for their roles in the investigation, including Lompoc Police Department and former officer Scott Casey (now with Santa Maria Police Department), Santa Barbara Police Department, Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.
“This investigation and resulting successful prosecutions are the direct result of the hard work, commitment and intelligence of multiple law enforcement agencies and the staff of the District Attorney’s Office, led by Senior DDA Ann Bramsen. Collectively we will continue to seek to abolish gang violence in our county,” said District Attorney Joyce Dudley. “This conviction alone is a significant blow to the Sureno gang organization.”
Macias is the last of the 12 men and women originally indicted in this case, officials noted.
— Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.