Santa Barbara County prosecutors are seeking to move the case from juvenile court to adult court for three men charged with murder in a 2023 shooting death in Santa Maria.

The three suspects are now adults, but were juveniles when Arthur Pichardo, 20, was shot to death and three others were wounded, according to Casey Nelson, senior deputy district attorney.

One suspect was arrested last week in Bakersfield, and the other two already were in custody on unrelated charges, according to Santa Maria Police.

Their names thus far have been withheld because they were minors at the time of the homicide.

But the District Attorney’s Office has filed petitions in juvenile court to transfer the case to adult court, Nelson said.

At approximately 12:20 a.m. on Oct. 21, 2023, officers and other emergency personnel responded to a report of multiple shots fired on the 1000 block of North School Street.

The shootings occurred at a large backyard party and stemmed from an earlier altercation, police said at the time.

Pichardo was killed and three other people — one juvenile and two adults — had non-life-threatening gunshot wounds.

The suspects are being held at Santa Barbara County Juvenile Justice Center in Santa Maria.

Nelson said they each face one felony count of first-degree murder, with special allegations that the killing was done to further the activities of a criminal street gang, and use of a firearm in the crime.

The investigation into the shooting is ongoing, police said, and anyone with information on the case to asked call Detective Brian Santiago at 805.928.3781 extension 1362.