A 24-year-old Santa Maria man was arrested on murder charges Saturday night after police officers responding to a fight call found a dead man inside a residence, according to the Santa Maria Police Department.
Officers were called out at 9:45 p.m. to a home in the 1000 block of West Orange Street for an altercation involving several people, Sgt. Paul Van Meel said.
“Upon entering the apartment, the responding units discovered a male … deceased inside,” Van Meel said.
“It appeared the victim died as a result having been involved in a fight with another person inside of the residence.”
Ismael Jacinto-Cruz was arrested, Van Meel said, and later booked into the Santa Barbara County Jail on murder charges.
Police said the killing was Santa Maria’s first homicide of 2014.
The name of the victim was not released.
— Noozhawk executive editor Tom Bolton can be reached at tbolton@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.