Noozhawk’s news team made substantial progress this past week in our own investigation into the Dec. 9 murder of Rob Gutierrez at the precise center of Santa Barbara’s tourist territory, and the inexplicable and mystifying ho-hum response by what is supposed to be the city’s leadership.
But we’re not quite there yet.
Santa Barbara County’s top journalists — executive editor Tom Bolton, managing editor Giana Magnoli, staff writer Josh Molina and North County editor Janene Scully — should begin dropping stories next week, and that’s all I’ll say about that for now.
As Best of Bill readers are very aware, Santa Barbara police say Gutierrez was gunned down near the Dolphin Family Statue at the base of Stearns Wharf the night of Dec. 9.
His identity was withheld at the time as were any details of how he came to be shot.
The still-unidentified victim died of his wounds on Dec. 20, although police did not disclose his death at the time and, in fact, would not confirm it after Noozhawk learned of it a day later.
On Jan. 19, police issued a brief statement announcing the arrests of four murder suspects “connected to a local criminal street gang” and identifying Gutierrez — who turned out to be a 52-year-old Camarillo husband and father of two girls — as “an innocent bystander.”
Oh, the statement also revealed, he had died 31 days before.
In spite of our Tom Bolton’s repeated requests for comment, police Chief Kelly Ann Gordon only returned his calls on Jan. 20 — about something else.
She adamantly defended the vagueness of the SBPD disclosures — before and after the arrests — by claiming that even the slightest whiff of an investigation would have jeopardized the whole shebang beforehand and that it was still at a perilous stage 24 hours later.
Evidently, these early twenty-something alleged criminal masterminds had no clue they were being hunted until police knocked on their doors on Jan. 19.
The actual police detectives and officers who made the arrests, and have been building the case with the Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office, deserve major praise for their work, but the same can’t be said for Gordon.
California is not a police state and there actually are certain disclosure laws that apply to law enforcement.
According to the California Criminal Code, Noozhawk — and any news media that care to join us — has a right to report some of that information to the public, and you have a right to know it.
Furthermore, under the U.S. Constitution, it is not government that gets to define what is or is not newsworthy. Woe be to our country if we venture any farther down that slippery slope.
And let me be clear: When a tourist, walking with his wife on an anniversary trip to Santa Barbara, is shot on Stearns Wharf and dies of his wounds, that is news. Period.
Given Santa Barbara’s renown as a tourist destination, how this crime has escaped national, and international, attention is another odd aspect of the saga.
Although Gordon has so far dodged any public statements — about a crime in her front yard, anyway — she at least has that 373-word news release to fall back on.
City Hall has been AWOL throughout, however.
City Administrator Rebecca Bjork, who supposedly runs the government, and Mayor Randy Rowse and his six fellow City Council members have made no public comments that I’m aware of. Although, as I mentioned last week, one of the eight told me privately that Gutierrez’s murder was “a tragic one-off.”
There’s been no news conference to talk about public safety, let alone overall crime and gang activity.
There’s been no public statement of condolences to the victim’s family on behalf of the citizens of Santa Barbara.
There’s been … nothing.
I’ve lived in Santa Barbara most of my life and this is the damnedest, most infuriating nonreaction I’ve ever seen.
Unfortunately, it’s the continuation of a troubling pattern, as I’ve written about before with the 2021 drive-by murders of Santa Barbara High School students Angel Castillo and Omar Montiel-Hernandez, and the 2022 stabbing of a man in the heart of the downtown Arts District. Both attacks were shoved under an official cone of silence for some reason.
This is inexcusable.
Criminals must know that they should not even attempt such brazen lawbreaking, and the public officials responsible for our community’s safety and reputation must be held accountable when they fail.
Santa Barbara deserves better than this.
Related Columns and Commentary
- Bill Macfadyen: Murder Is Still on Our Minds in Santa Barbara
- Bill Macfadyen: Gangs, Murder Leave Santa Barbara Officials Speechless
- Bill Macfadyen: Santa Barbara Caught in Crime Warp
- Bill Macfadyen: Santa Barbara Murder Arrests Clouded by Lack of Transparency
My friend, Jerry Roberts, invited me on his Newsmakers with Jerry Roberts podcast the morning of Feb. 10 to talk about the Gutierrez murder and response.
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Noozhawk had an audience of 113,369 readers this past week, according to our Google Analytics.
What follows is my own recap of the Top 5 stories you were reading during that period.
If you’ve read this far, you should know by now that this is my opinion column, and I write it in my civic capacity as Noozhawk’s publisher.
Whether you agree or disagree, click here to submit a letter to the editor.
1. Body Found in River Identified as Missing Lompoc Boy
The search for a missing Lompoc Valley Middle School student ended in heartbreak Feb. 5 when two kayakers came across the body of 14-year-old Alberto Corona Cabrera in the Santa Ynez River.
As our Janene Scully reported, Santa Barbara County sheriff’s spokeswoman Raquel Zick said the Coroner’s Bureau used rapid DNA technology to confirm the boy’s identity.
The cause and manner of his death had not yet been determined, however.
Alberto’s parents had first reported him missing the afternoon of Jan. 27.
According to Lompoc police Sgt. Jorge Magana, detectives determined that the teen and two other juveniles had been in a car that got stuck in mud west of the city.
“While walking back to the city, there was a disagreement on which way to go,” he said. “Cabrera Corona walked northbound, and the other juveniles walked eastbound and made it into town.”
Two adults in a kayak discovered Alberto’s body in the river near Santa Lucia Canyon Road, northeast of Lompoc.
Lompoc police, the sheriff’s Search and Rescue Team, search dogs and a sheriff’s helicopter had twice combed the area where Alberto was last seen, but came up empty.
A GoFundMe account established to help the family with funeral expenses had raised nearly $20,000 as of Feb. 10. Click here to make an online donation.
2. Wait Is Over as Water Begins Spilling Out of Lake Cachuma
The drought plaguing Santa Barbara County and the rest of California may not be over, but a drought-related drought of sorts is: A nearly full Lake Cachuma began spilling over Bradbury Dam on Feb. 8.
As our Tom Bolton reported, the lake last spilled in 2011, and has been slowly but surely getting closer to its 192,978 acre-foot capacity since last month’s series of very wet storms.
As of Feb. 10, it’s 99.7% full — just inches from the brim.
Back in December, the 31,000-acre reservoir — the largest source of water for much of the county — was less than a third full, and local water agencies were being told there would be severe delivery impacts.
The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, which operates the lake and dam along Highway 154 in the Santa Ynez Valley, said in a tweet that the water releases into the Santa Ynez River were “to allow for incoming flows.”
3. BizHawk: Maíz Picante Taquería the Latest Mexican Restaurant Set to Open in Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara’s newest Mexican restaurant is about to open on Upper De la Vina Street. Not only that, it’s the third Mexican restaurant in about a quarter-mile stretch of the street.
The more the merrier, I say.
As our Josh Molina was first to report, Maíz Picante Taquería has put up a new sign above its papered-over door and windows at 2714 De la Vina St., across the parking lot from Handlebar Coffee Roasters.
The restaurant row right there already includes Edomasa Sushi Bar & Restaurant, Mayo’s Taquería y Carnicería and Bree’osh Café/Kitchen.
And that’s just on the east side of the street. Two blocks up on the other side is the always busy Los Agaves Mexican Restaurant.
4. Federal Prosecutors Won’t Pursue Death Penalty for Santa Barbara Man Charged With Murdering His 2 Young Children in Mexico
Matthew Taylor Coleman, the Santa Barbara surf school owner accused of killing his two young children with a spearfishing gun in Mexico, will not face the death penalty in the atrocious case.
As our Giana Magnoli reported, federal prosecutors made the one-sentence announcement in a Jan. 30 filing in U.S. District Court in San Diego.
The 41-year-old Coleman has been charged with two counts of foreign first-degree murder of U.S. nationals. He has pleaded not guilty and is being held in federal custody.
According to the FBI, Coleman drove his children — 3-year-old Kaleo and 10-month-old Roxy — from Santa Barbara to Rosarito in Baja California on Aug. 7, 2021.
His wife, Abby, reported her family missing later that day, and Santa Barbara police were able to track Coleman’s iPhone, which placed him in Mexico.
Coleman was taken into custody by FBI agents at the U.S. border as he returned alone to California.
That same day, Mexican authorities discovered the children’s bodies in a ditch on a ranch outside Rosarito.
Coleman allegedly confessed to FBI agents that he killed the children with a spearfishing gun.
According to an FBI affidavit, “he believed his children were going to grow into monsters so he had to kill them.”
The Colemans ran the now-defunct Lovewater Surf School in Santa Barbara.
5. Santa Barbara City Council Moves to Allow Larger, Taller Accessory Dwelling Units
In an acknowledgement that accessory dwelling units can make a small dent in the demand for local housing, the Santa Barbara City Council has expanded some of the parameters under which they can be built.
Our Josh Molina was the first to report that the council on Jan. 31 revised the rules to raise the height limit to 25 feet from 18 for attached ADUs and to 18 feet from 17 for detached units.
Under the revisions, ADUs proposed above two-car garages can now push an extra 150 feet into the yard, and nonlivable space, such as a basement or garage, can now be converted into an ADU.
The changes aren’t limited to residential properties. The council agreed to allow State Street property owners to build second-floor ADUs, so long as they already have or propose to build a primary residential unit.
Click here for a complete list of changes.
The State of California has decreed that local municipalities must find new land or rezone existing areas to build more than 2.5 million housing units by 2031 — just eight years from now.
Over the last five years, Santa Barbara has received 928 applications for ADUs. So far, 416 have been built with another 216 somewhere in the process.
“This is definitely going to produce a lot more housing in the city,” Councilwoman Alejandra Gutierrez, a Lower Eastside ADU resident, said during the discussion.
“The (Jan. 9) storm reminded us that we can become an island. We have a lot of people who live outside the city who are crucial when crisis hits.”
There’s been no word yet from Santa Barbara County Supervisor Das Williams on whether he approves.
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Good Reads
Here are six more stories worth your read:
» Historic Landmarks Commission Finally Gets Chance to Weigh in on Outdoor Dining Structures on State Street — Way too late in the process, as far as I’m concerned, Santa Barbara’s Historic Landmarks Commission at last gets a say on State Street’s ramshackle appearance. Staff writer Josh Molina reports that the commissioners don’t appear to be fans of the new look.
» Rainfall Replenishes Santa Barbara Water Supplies, But Planners Say Conservation Remains Key — Josh reviews the local water works in our post-storm outlook, but it’s the accompanying photo of Gibraltar Dam that catches my eye.
» LAFCO Rejects Request to Expand Lompoc’s City Limits Westward into Agriculture Land — North County editor Janene Scully endures a grueling hearing that ends up leaving Lompoc even more isolated and ignored than before.
» Solvang Planning Commission Approves Sansum Clinic Medical Building Project — Janene has the prognosis for crucial new health-care services in the Santa Ynez Valley.
» Santa Barbara Foundation Opens Nominations for 80th Person of the Year Awards — Karin Hill, our newest contributing writer, has the details on how you can make your nominations for the Santa Barbara Foundation’s Person of the Year. Noozhawk is a sponsor so I don’t think I’m eligible.
» Bishop Diego’s Qu’Ran Gossett, Pasefika Salatielu Lead Noozhawk’s South Coast Football Team — Sports editor Barry Punzal doles out the hardware for Noozhawk’s annual All-South Coast Football Team. There are some very familiar names among those receiving gridiron glory.
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Last Year on Noozhawk
What was our most-read story this time last year? Major Injuries Reported in Head-On Collision on Highway 154 Near Los Olivos.
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Bill Macfadyen’s Story of the Week
Who could have foreseen this? Oh, yeah, Brian Goebel and I did: Educator and Khan Academy Founder Sal Khan on COVID-19’s Staggering Math Toll.
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Best of Bill’s Instagram
Duct tape, snow and a fond farewell to a Utah legend are all in my Instagram feed this past week.
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Watch It
This Colorado bear is a selfie-loving camera hog. HT to Best of Bill reader Jane Morris.
