A 20-year-old gang member was arrested early Tuesday in connection with a shooting death on Olive Street in February, according to the Santa Barbara Police Department.
Joseph Michael Castro of Santa Barbara was taken into custody after SWAT teams from the city and the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department served a warrant at a home on the 700 block of Cook Avenue on the city’s Westside at about 5 a.m., said Sgt. Riley Harwood.
Castro was to be booked into Santa Barbara County Jail on charges of murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and participation in a criminal street gang, Harwood said, with bail set at $1.1 million.
Castro, known by the alias “Grumps,” is accused in the slaying of Kelly Mitchell Hunt, 21, of Ventura, who suffered multiple gunshot wounds on the 1000 block of Olive Street on Feb. 19.
Hunt died later at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital.
Police earlier this summer had asked for the public’s help in identifying the owner of a bicycle that was found at the scene, whom they described as a “person of interest.”
Investigators Tuesday also served a search warrant at a residence on the 300 block of Cooper Road.
“Due to the ongoing nature of this investigation additional details are being withheld,” Harwood said.
— 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.