Santa Barbara gangsters sentenced

by F. Scott Faulkner , January 27, 2010

SANTA BARBARA — Superior court Judge Frank Ochoa sentenced a notorious trio of Santa Barbara’s Eastside gang members Monday to nearly 57 years of combined prison time following their trial for the assault of a rival Westside gang member.

Omar Ramos, Erick Roman and Ricardo Nava filed guilty pleas to charges of attempted murder with gang enhancements. Ramos was sentenced to 20 years, Nava for 19 years, and Roman 17 years for an attack upon a rival with knives and a baseball bat in June 2007.

Assistant District Attorney Hans Almgren reported that Nava also faces murder charges in the death of Lorenzo Carachure, which occurred just a month later on Santa Barbara’s Westside. Nava, Ramos and Roman were all apprehended following federal indictments preceding 2008’s multi-jurisdictional Operation Gator Roll.