Christopher Miranda testified Wednesday that he was just looking to smoke and drink at Stearns Wharf with his friends before an altercation with another group led to a shootout that killed Robert Dion Gutierrez in December 2022.
“They were walking toward the group, and when they got to the base of the pier, I heard gunshots,” Miranda said.
Miranda took the stand in Superior Court in Santa Barbara to testify in the case against Jiram Tenorio Ramon, who is accused of firing the shot that hit and killed Gutierrez on Dec. 9, 2022.
Gutierrez, who lived in Camarillo, was visiting the wharf with his wife in celebration of the couple’s 20th wedding anniversary.
Miranda, who previously pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting, was driving on the night of the shooting, and had picked up Tenorio Ramon and two other friends.
Miranda testified that hours before the shooting, Tenorio Ramon showed him a handgun and pushed Miranda to hold it.
“I was scrolling through my music playlist looking for some music as we were (getting) ready to head out, and he said, ‘Look what I got,’” Miranda said.
Tenorio Ramon is accused of carrying out the act as part of his association with a Westside Santa Barbara gang. Miranda testified that he was not part of the gang himself, but he had heard Tenorio Ramon talk about his ties to the group.
Miranda said that he, Tenorio Ramon, and two other men decided to go to the wharf after they had smoked marijuana and consumed some alcohol at Painted Cave in the mountains above Santa Barbara.
He said that there was talk among some of going to Old Town Goleta to gangbang, but the group decided not to.
When the group arrived at Stearns Wharf, Miranda said, they decided the pier was too crowded to drink or smoke safely and decided to leave shortly after.
“We just wanted to just go and drink a little bit more and enjoy the views,” Miranda told the court.
Miranda said as they were leaving the pier, they drove past a group of about 10 people, who were later revealed to be from Ventura. He said the way they dressed caught the attention of the people in the car, and one of the passengers threw up a gang hand sign at the group on the pier.
Miranda continued by saying that he was passing by the parking kiosk near the entrance of the wharf when he heard whistling from the group and saw them making gang hand signs in his rearview mirror.
He said he then saw one of the males in the group lift his T-shirt near his waistband. Even though he said he could not see what it was, Miranda testified that he believes the person had a gun.
Miranda was ordered to park the car and let Tenorio Ramon and one of the other passengers out. It was shortly afterwards that Miranda heard gunshots and took off with the other passenger, James Rosborough.
It was during the shootout between the two groups that Gutierrez was shot and killed.
His wife testified on the first day of the trial that the couple were at Stearns Wharf to visit some of the restaurants in celebration of their anniversary.
Miranda and Tenorio Ramon were arrested in January 2023 during a coordinated operation conducted by the Santa Barbara Police Department.
Over the past two weeks, the prosecution has laid out its case against Tenorio Ramon, suggesting that the shooting was part of his attempts to prove himself to the Westside gang.
The prosecution is led by Deputy District Attorney Tate McCallister. Tenorio Ramon is being represented by Deputy Public Defender George Steele.
The prosecution produced evidence showing video of the exchange between the two groups at Stearns Wharf, and explained how they were able to track Tenorio Ramon using cell towers and security footage.
The prosecution also used messages sent over Instagram to link Tenorio Ramon to older members of the gang.