Police officers entering a house where a renter reported seeing a dead man didn’t find a body, but did discover so much blood they ended up leaving red footprints on the tile as they left the Santa Maria residence two years ago.
Now-Lt. Dan Cohen of the Santa Maria Police Department testified Tuesday in the trial of six men charged with the gang-related torture and slaying of Anthony Ibarra, 28, on March 17, 2013.
Ibarra reportedly was killed because he owed drug debts. His body was found later in a U-Haul truck parked on a street in Orcutt.
In a bedroom of a home at 1142 W. Donovan Road, officers found a broken kitchen knife with blood spots on the walls and mirror. Cohen recalled seeing “quite a bit of blood” in the room.
“In summary, it looked like a crime scene to me,” the veteran police officer said.
Cohen’s testimony occurred during an abbreviated week due to a planned off day Wednesday, state holidays Thursday and Monday and a judge-approved dark day Friday to provide a longer break for the extended trial for which jury selection began in midsummer.
Testimony in the Santa Barbara County Superior Court trial will start its sixth week when it is scheduled to resume Tuesday morning in Santa Maria Juvenile Hall, a location picked to accommodate the many participants.
Those close to the case say the prosecutor may be close to presenting evidence, clearing the way for the defense to begin.
On trial for Ibarra’s death are Ramon Maldonado, his father David Maldonado, Anthony Solis, Reyes Gonzales, Santos Sauceda and Jason Castillo.
A man who rented the garage at the Donovan Road home provided the first inkling about a possible crime when he showed up at the Santa Maria Police Station on the afternoon of March 18, 2013, to say he saw a body at the residence.
Asked by Senior Deputy District Attorney Ann Bramsen why a team officers headed to the home, Cohen said, “We had no idea what we were getting ourselves into.”
“In such an instance like that it could be rather dangerous,” he added.
With officers positioned at the front and rear of the property, Cohen said they entered through the garage.
“When the garage door rolled up we could see what appeared to be red footprints,” he said, later calling them “bloody footprints.”
Officers systematically searched the house to make sure it was clear. When they encountered a rolled up carpet in the bedroom with the large amount of blood, Cohen said they checked to make sure a body was not stashed inside.
After determining the house was empty, officers used the same path to leave.
“I noticed as we were leaving the room we were leaving very faint bloody footprints on the tile,” he said.
The prosecutor displayed a photo showing a drop of blood on floor and said he doubted it was from officers since it would require significant amount of blood.
Instead, the officers noted “a very very thin layer” of blood on their shoes.
“Even as we were walking they were hard to see,” he added.
They left and secured the house as a crime scene, awaiting warrants to conduct a more thorough search.
Tuesday afternoon’s testimony also centered on forensic data acquired about various cell phones as Bramsen attempted to use the cell tower location of those calls to match earlier testimony in the case.
Investigator Jeff Ellis of the Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office also discussed the data from the GPS-monitoring bracelet worn by Ramon Maldonado, pinpointing his location through the satellite-tracking technology at the house during the assault
“Over the course of two days, I plotted where the GPS signals said the bracelet was located at certain times and certain locations,” he said, before noting Ramon Maldonado’s travels on the day of the homicide.
In addition to the six men on trial, the lead defendant’s son, Ramon Maldonado Jr., will be tried separately but in adult court although he is a teenager.
Four other defendants — Robert Stan Sosa, Pedro Torres Jr., Carmen Cardenas and Verenisa Aviles — accepted pleas in the case.
— Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.