A defendant in one of two cases allegedly connected to the MS-13 criminal gang has changed his plea in Santa Barbara County Superior Court.
Jose Eleute Mejia Orellano, 29, who has been in custody since March 2016, pleaded no contest on Monday to two counts of attempted murder plus a conspiracy to commit acts in support of a criminal gang.
While a dozen men were indicted by a Santa Barbara County Criminal Grand Jury of murder and other crimes in July 2016, the panel also handed down an indictment against a second smaller group facing lesser charges.
Of those five from the smaller case, two defendants took plea deals, and two others, including Orellano, have been awaiting trial, while the fifth remains on the loose.
Orellano, who was represented by attorney Harold Mesick, initially pleaded not guilty to six felony charges of conspiracy to commit a crime plus a sentencing enhancement for a gang shooting from a vehicle resulting in great bodily injury or death.
The incidents he has been charged with reportedly occurred in the Oxnard area, Senior Deputy District Attorney Ann Bramsen said.
Shortly after his changed plea, Orellano was sentenced to 12 years in state prison and is expected to serve 85% of that time, she added.
The plea deal leaves one defendant in the smaller case. Jose Wilfredo Abarca Soriano, 28, who was taken into custody more than two years after the others, and has been in the County Jail’s custody since June 2018.
Soriano initially was taken into custody in October 2017 in Virginia before being extradited to California.
He was ordered to return to court on Aug. 13 before Judge John McGregor.
Prior to Orellano, the prior plea deal in this case occurred in 2018.
The fifth defendant, Jose Francisco Mejia Orellana, apparently remains at large, with a warrant still seeking his arrest.
In the larger case linked to MS-13, two defendants have changed their pleas, leaving 10 men to stand trial.
— 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.
