Jury selection has begun in the murder trial of a Santa Barbara man accused of fatally shooting another man at Stearns Wharf in 2022.  

Jiram Tenorio Ramon, 25, is accused in connection with the death of Robert Dion Gutierrez, 52, an “innocent bystander” who was shot while visiting Stearns Wharf with his wife on Dec. 9, 2022.

During the jury selection process, attorneys for the prosecution and the defense go through a pool of people and choose who will sit through the trial. Opening statements and trial testimony will begin once the jury selection is complete.

Senior Deputy District Attorney Tate McCallister is prosecuting the case, and Public Defender George Steele is defending Tenorio Ramon.

During a preliminary hearing in July 2023, Detective Bryce Ford of the Santa Barbara Police Department testified that Tenorio Ramon was at the entrance to Stearns Wharf near Cabrillo Boulevard with three other men when they recognized a group of pedestrians who were allegedly members of a rival gang.

According to Ford, the men, who were in a car, challenged the other group, and two of the four men got out of the car. The prosecution alleges that when a gun was fired into the crowd, and a shot hit Gutierrez.

The SBPD believes Gutierrez was an innocent bystander. Gutierrez was transported to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital and died from his injuries on Dec. 20, 2022.

Gutierrez is survived by his wife, Gerallie, and their daughters, Ariana and Carisa. He worked in health care at a Camarillo assisted-living facility and volunteered for his daughters’ soccer teams at AYSO.

Tenorio Ramon was arrested in January 2023, along with three other local men and three juveniles from Ventura County in connection with the shooting.

Prosecutors allege the shooting was gang-related and that the suspects were members of criminal street gangs.

Of the other adult suspects arrested in the case, Ricardo Tomas Jauregui-Moreno pleaded guilty to assault with force likely to produce great bodily injury, Christopher Dave Miranda pleaded guilty to assault and James Lee Rosborough pleaded guilty to being an accessory, according to court records.

Steele, Tenorio Ramon’s defense attorney, has filed pre-trial motions, including one that argues that any alleged gang affiliation has nothing to do with the case.

Another motion was submitted to the court asking to dismiss the prosecution’s attempt to present evidence of song lyrics that Tenorio Ramon allegedly wrote and sang and shared on on Instagram.

The motion argued that the lyrics were too general to be about the case.

Editor’s Note: This story was updated to clarify a statement about song lyrics referenced by attorneys. The lyrics were reportedly written after the shooting occurred, not before.