Burtis Street near Hollister Elementary School is usually a quiet road in a residential Goleta neighborhood, but on Jan. 7, 2021, it was where two local college students were shot to death by a 15-year-old gang member. 

Jasper Pieter Van der Meulen, a 19-year-old UC Santa Barbara student, and Enzo Marino Rastelli, a 19-year-old Santa Barbara City College student, were found in a parked 2012 Audi A3 hatchback with the driver’s side front window broken out.

In February 2021, Sheriff Bill Brown said Van der Meulen and Rastelli were shot while selling marijuana, and called the incident a robbery and “drug deal that went bad.”

On Thursday, the last criminal defendant in the case was sentenced to state prison, closing out three years of preliminary hearings, court dates and sentencing hearings. 

In March 2022, the then-16-year-old shooter, whose name has not been released because he’s a minor, pleaded guilty to murdering Van der Meulen and Rastelli.

He also admitted that he used a firearm during the commission of the murders, and that the crimes were done in association with the Westside criminal street gang in Santa Barbara. 

The teen is serving a seven-year sentence at Santa Maria Juvenile Hall, and his time in custody won’t extend past age 25. 

While he pleaded guilty at age 16, the minor was 15 years and 11 months old at the time of the killings, meaning he couldn’t be tried as an adult. 

An accomplice, Josua Isaac Vega, 27, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit a crime. As part of his plea, Vega admitted supplying his co-conspirator with the fake money that was used in the robbery.

In March, he was sentenced to one year in county jail by Judge Dandona, according to court records.

On Thursday, another accomplice, Bryan Munoz, 24, was sentenced by Dandona to 13 years in state prison for conspiracy to commit robbery.

Munoz admitted to being an active member in the Westside criminal street gang at the time of the shooting. He also admitted to conspiring to commit the robbery to financially benefit the Westside street gang.

“There are no winners here today,” Dandona said during the sentencing hearing. 

After the shooting, Sharon Donohoe learned a lot about her son, Van der Meulen. She said she found out that he was a registered organ donor, and that he had multiple friends who said he was there for them when no one else was.

However, she also learned that he was selling marijuana and still dealing with an addiction they thought he had under control.

“Jasper was not perfect. He struggled at times with health issues, and a sadness that I suspect was a result of him being the very intelligent, deeply sensitive and empathetic person he was in our troubled world,” Donohoe said Thursday during her victim-impact statement to the court.

“But Jasper was brave and resilient, and his future was bright. He had a kind, gentle and generous spirit, and an open heart that welcomed everyone he met, and that touched many.”

Tanya Rastelli, Enzo Rastelli’s mother, also gave a victim-impact statement to the court.

She spoke about the pain of never being able to see Enzo Rastelli grow up and have his own children, how he will never become an uncle, and how his sister will never be an aunt. She said Enzo Rastelli was in line to become a manager at a restaurant in Montecito. 

Both mothers said they were upset by the outcome of the case, particularly with the sentencing laws that allow their sons’ killer to get seven years free.

“Where’s the accountability?” Tanya Rastelli said. “Why should these laws be so lenient? It makes no sense to me. It’s maddening.”

Rastelli told Noozhawk that she believes the gang members involved purposely sent in a 15-year-old to commit the robbery because they knew he would receive a lenient sentence.

“They’re utilizing the age of these kids, and these kids don’t have a fighting chance,” Tanya Rastelli said. “Of course, they’re gonna look up to the shiny thing that has money, they’re gonna look up to some sort of gang family.”

The “natural and probable consequences doctrine” was repealed in 2019 with the passage of California Senate Bill 1437, which changed California’s law so that people could not be convicted of murder if they were not the actual killer.

“That has side effects for victims,” Donohoe said in an interview with Noozhawk before the sentencing. “It’s very unsatisfactory that Jasper and Enzo are dead and nobody’s really being held accountable, in my mind.”

Since Van der Meulen’s death, Donohoe became an active member in Moms Demand Action, a nonpartisan activism group fighting for gun-safety measures. 

“I still blame the gun for the whole thing that happened,” Donohoe said. “If they were able to get firearms, that means anybody can, and that’s not safe for our society. It’s just out of control.”

Donohoe said being a part of Moms Demand Action gave her something to do and helped her get through her grief and healing. 

“Moms Demand Action inspires me and gives me hope, helps me keep going,” Donohoe said

Multiple members of Moms Demand Action appeared in court to support Donohoe.

Rebecca Tucker, a member of the group’s leadership team, said what happened with Van der Meulen and Rastelli is a motivator to continue working toward safety measures. 

“Guns are the No. 1 cause of death for children in America, and that’s absolutely unacceptable,” Tucker said. “We think it’s an issue that everyone needs to get involved with. This is a public health crisis, and sadly, if it hasn’t touched your life, it probably will at some point if you live in America.”

On Thursday, the courtroom was full of friends and family honoring and remembering Van der Meulen and Rastelli.

“I have no son anymore; the son I brought up to enjoy life is gone,” Randall Rastelli, Enzo Rastelli’s father, said in his victim-impact statement. “Unless you lose someone close to you who was murdered, you can’t understand what I’m going through every day.”

The Rastellis played a video in court featuring photos throughout their son’s life. Photos depicted him at a young age enjoying nature, climbing trees and riding his bike. There were photos of him at the beach as an adult, fishing and snowboarding.

Cathleen Donohoe, Van der Meulen’s aunt, shared how his death has affected her and her sister, and how they are still trying to come to terms with his death.

“There was me before January 7th, 2021, when the defendant and his co-conspirator ripped Jasper away from me,” Cathleen Donohoe said in her victim-impact statement. “There is me now, after January 7th. I’m broken-hearted, a hollowed-out shell of who I used to be.”

Sharon Donhoe knows her son was a complex person but she still remembers him as a bright kid who loved nature and was athletic and musically talented. She plans to keep working with Moms Demand Action in his honor. 

“I’m super impressed with Moms Demand Action, and looking forward to continuing to support their mission of reducing gun violence in our country,” Donohoe said.

“Of course, I’m very sad. Grief is a roller-coaster. You have some days that are OK, and some days that are just like day one.”