Two men allegedly involved in a gang-related shooting in Isla Vista on Monday night were formally charged Wednesday with attempted murder, attempted robbery and related charges.
Santa Barbara County District Attorney Joyce Dudley charged Jose Guadalupe Gutierrez, 19, of Goleta and James Joshua Taylor, 22, of Lompoc with two counts of attempted murder, one count of attempted robbery, one count of first degree burglary and one count of assault with the personal use of a deadly weapon.
She said special allegations included personal use of a firearm and that the crimes were committed for the benefit, in association with or at the direction of a criminal street gang.
An arraignment date for both men wasn’t yet set in Santa Barbara County Superior Court, Dudley said in a statement Wednesday.
Both men remained in the hospital Wednesday recovering from injuries suffered during the altercation, which broke out shortly after 7 p.m. Monday in a second-floor apartment in the 6500 block of Sabado Tarde Road in eastern Isla Vista near the UCSB campus, according to Kelly Hoover, a Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman.
Four people were injured in the incident, which initially was reported as a domestic-disturbance call, although authorities later indicated the altercation was drug-related, according to the Sheriff’s Department.
The fight started after Gutierrez and Taylor went to the apartment of two male UCSB students, Hoover said, noting the students knew Gutierrez.
“While the two subjects were inside the residence, an altercation occurred,” she said. “As a result of the fight, two of the residents sustained … gunshot wounds. A handgun was found at the scene.”
One student was shot in the abdomen and the other was shot in the chest, Hoover said. Both students, whose names were not released, were transported to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital and were expected to recover.
Taylor, who also was injured, was subdued by other residents and taken into custody by law enforcement, Hoover said.
She said Gutierrez fled in a white sedan through the UCSB campus, but he later turned up at Goleta Valley Cottage Hospital claiming he had been injured in a vehicle accident.
Taylor and Gutierrez were both taken to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital, where they will be placed under arrest and booked into County Jail upon release, Hoover said.
Taylor is being held without bail due to two warrants for probation violations, she said. Gutierrez was being held on $1.6 million bail.
— Noozhawk staff writer Gina Potthoff can be reached at gpotthoff@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.