California Highway Patrol Officer Ricardo Ayala was conducting a routine traffic stop in January 2025 when a loud noise overhead alerted him to a small plane about to crash.
Ayala quickly let the speeding driver off with a warning and chased the plane to the site of the crash in Goleta, where he scaled a fence and rushed to help.
Arriving on the scene, Ayala quickly called for backup from medical and fire agencies before pulling the pilot of the plane out of the flaming wreckage. Both the pilot and the passenger survived.
His story was just one of many shared Thursday evening at the 56th Annual H. Thomas Guerry Awards, where members of local law enforcement are honored for their service and exemplary deeds during the previous year.
The awards named 21 recipients this year, with five people being honored with the H. Thomas Guerry Award for Valor. The other 16 were presented with the Superior Performance Award.
The ceremony is named after Officer Tom Guerry, who was shot and killed by a pair of brothers in 1970.
For his quick response, Ayala was awarded the H. Thomas Guerry Award for Valor. Capt. Michael Logie commended Ayala for his bravery and quick actions.
“But more than that, shifting that appropriate action to make something happen, which is exactly what Ricardo did,” Logie said.
The other recipients include five officers from the Santa Maria Police Department: Bret Matthews, Michael Parker, Antonio Pena, and David Rodriguez.
The officers were awarded the H. Thomas Guerry Award for Valor for their actions in subduing a suspect in a stabbing death in Santa Maria.
The other honor presented included the Superior Performance Award.
From the UC Santa Barbara Police Department, Sgt. Arlene Samaniego and Detective Kovena Avila were celebrated for their work in investigating a string of sexual assaults connected to the UCSB campus.
UCSB Police Chief Matthew Bly commended Samaniego and Kovena for their work in linking the incidents to a single person. Arian Eteghaei was arrested in 2021 and charged with crimes connected to multiple victims.
Eteghaei was later convicted of sexual penetration with a foreign object and domestic-violence battery against an ex-girlfriend, identified in court as Jane Doe H.O.C., and forcible rape against a woman who was identified as Jane Doe M.E.
Bly stated the pair worked with 16 survivors, wrote 15 separate reports, 96 supplemental reports, conducted over 50 witness interviews, and issued multiple search and arrest forms.
However, despite their hard work, he highlighted their work with the survivors in the case.
“Something that our department is most proud of regarding this significant investigation is the continued care and compassion both detectives continuously displayed over a significant period of time in supporting all the survivors associated with these reports,” Bly said.
Also acknowledged for the work in the case were Senior Deputy District Attorney Lauren Franco and Investigator Chad Hunt from the Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office. Franco was the lead attorney on the case.
District Attorney John Savrnoch commended them for their work during the months-long trial, which he called a “constant battle.” He added that Franco and Hunt were up against a team of lawyers from Los Angeles.
“They had a firm and three people constantly peppering,” Savrnoch said. “But what they didn’t know is they were outnumbered.”
He continued by praising the pair for their dedication to the case, and said the connection the pair built with the survivors was real.
“You can take somebody that is educated, you can train them, and they can be good at almost anything,” he said. “You’re only going to be great if you truly care.”
Other recipients of the Superior Performance Award were Lt. Christopher Gotschall and Sgt. Sandy Frausto from the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office.
From the North County, recipients included Officer Toby Hall from the California Highway Patrol’s Buellton office and Officer Maria Barriga from the California Highway Patrol’s Santa Maria office.
The Santa Barbara Police Department had seven recipients this year, including Detective Sgt. Rick Cipres, Detective Sgt. Ethan Ragsdale, Detective Saul Amezquita, Detective Bryce Ford, Officer Thomas Diefenthaler, Officer Brittany Rohrs and Officer Rocio Alvarez.
Officer Eduardo Servin from the Santa Maria Police Department was also awarded.
