Four Santa Barbara County men have been arrested for allegedly extorting money on behalf of the Mexican Mafia prison gang, according to the Santa Barbara Police Department.
The arrests came after a 16-month investigation stemming from the Raymond Macias kidnapping and torture case, said Sgt. Riley Harwood.
Taken into custody earlier this week were Benjamin Ybarra, 36, and Jesse Martin Enriquez, 35, both of of Santa Barbara, Franco Eric Aguiniga, 24, of Lompoc, and Ruben Jose Regalado Jr., 34, of Santa Maria, Harwood said.
All four were charges with conspiracy to commit extortion for the benefit of a criminal street gang. Regalado was also arrested for conspiracy to possess methamphetamine for sale for the benefit of a criminal street gang.
Ybarra, Enriquez, and Regalado are Santa Barbara area gang members, Harwood said, while Aguiniga has ties to Lompoc area gangs.
After Macias’ arrest, Santa Barbara detectives were engaged in an ongoing investigation into the influence of the Mexican Mafia prison gang and Surenos (Southern California Hispanic street gang members) in the commission of crimes throughout Santa Barbara County, Harwood said.
“Their investigation established that Ybarra, Enriquez, Aguiniga, and Regalado conspired to extort money from Santa Barbara County residents on behalf of the Mexican Mafia,” Harwood said. “The victims were involved in both criminal and legitimate activities. This practice is colloquially referred to by gang members as “collecting taxes.”
On Sept. 25, detectives obtained $500,000 felony arrest warrants for Ybarra, Enriquez, Aguiniga, and Regalado, and search warrants for their respective residences.
On Wednesday, the four were taken into custody with the assistance of personnel from the Lompoc Police Department, the Santa Maria Police Department, and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Harwood said.
They were booked into the Santa Barbara County Jail.
— 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.
