A Santa Barbara man pleaded guilty to murder in the 2019 fatal stabbing of an Eastside man, the Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office said Wednesday.
Igor Rai Ortiz pleaded guilty to the murder of Alberto Suarez Torres, 29, and “admitted that he used a knife in the commission of the murder and committed the murder in association with members of the Westside criminal street gang for the benefit of the Westside gang,” the office said in a statement.
At 1:15 a.m. on June 1, 2019, Torres was walking home from his downtown Santa Barbara restaurant job and was stabbed on Cacique Street, according to police.
Police officers responded to a 9-1-1 call reporting an assault and found Torres unconscious at the scene. They started first aid until city firefighters and an American Medical Response ambulance arrived, a police department representative said at the time.
Torres was transported to the hospital, where he died of his wounds, according to police.
“Just yards from his home, Mr. Torres was attacked by Ortiz and an accomplice. During the attack, Ortiz and his accomplice repeatedly stabbed Mr. Torres, killing him,” the District Attorney’s Office said in a statement this week.
Ortiz and five other people were charged in connection with the fatal stabbing.
The District Attorney’s Office initially charged four people with murder charges and two others with accessory charges.
As of this week, Ortiz and one other adult defendant, Angel Rafael Barajasflores Jr., face murder charges in the case, while three others have pleaded guilty to accessory.
Barajaflores was held to answer to the murder charge and special circumstances and enhancements after a preliminary hearing. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
He is being held in the Main Jail with no bail, according to Sheriff’s Office custody records.
Adelain Leilani Ibarra pleaded not guilty to murder and other charges filed in 2019 and in June 2020 pleaded guilty to accessory in this case.
Her sentencing hearing has been continued several times and is scheduled for February, according to Superior Court records. She remains in custody at the Main Jail with no bail, according to Sheriff’s Office custody records.
Alondra Ochoa pleaded not guilty to murder and other charges filed in 2019 and in June 2020 pleaded guilty to accessory in this case, and admitted enhancements including a second strike allegation. She was sentenced to six years in state prison, according to Superior Court records.
Alejandro DeLaTorre was charged with murder in January 2020, six months after the other defendants in this case, and pleaded not guilty. He pleaded guilty to accessory in June 2020 and was sentenced to five years in state prison, according to Superior Court records.
A juvenile also was charged in this case, but her name and details were not released because of her age at the time.
At the time of the arrests, Ortiz was 19, Barajasflores was 31, Ibarra was 20, Ochoa was 18 and DeLaTorre was 23.
The criminal complaints in this case alleged the stabbing was gang-related. Court documents alleged Ortiz, Barajasflores, Ibarra and Ochoa are members of the Westside gang. They allege one or more of them encountered Torres, an alleged Eastside gang member, and chased him before stabbing him, according to court records.
Ortiz will be sentenced to 25 years to life in state prison during a hearing scheduled for Feb. 8 in Santa Barbara County Superior Court, according to the District Attorney’s Office.