SANTA BARBARA — If the myth that “bad things always come in threes” bears any truth, then the discovery of six local area known gang members violating the law would bear that out two-fold.
According to Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department Public Information Officer Kelly Hoover, “four adult suspects” were observed on the night of June 13th loitering in a neighborhood public part well after closing hours at sunset.
seized evidence
As SBSD deputies rolled onto the scene within view of the picnic bench where the group had gathered, an additional pair of men were spotted “walking from the restroom area towards the picnic table.”
Following their initial contact with the group, deputies investigated the environs and inspected the public restroom where they discovered “a shoebox” containing a plethora of interesting items, including “a loaded .22 cal. revolver, a .380 semi-automatic pistol,” nearly 100 rounds of ammunition and several baggies of cocaine.
Deputies also located a folding knife that had been tossed into the weeds close to the picnic table in a rather ineffectual attempt to conceal it.
As these things usually progress, deputies then investigated the evidence in hand and determined that one of the guns “was reported as stolen out of Oxnard.”
That finding soon had Santa Barbara residents 20-year-old Anissa Arzate and 22-year-old Alicia Visueta, as well as Oxnard residents Anthony Lopez, 24, and Adrian Manriquez, 18 taken into custody, along with a male and a female juvenile. All the adults were transported to Santa Barbara County Jail while the juveniles were taken to Santa Maria Juvenile Hall, where they were all booked on charges of possession of a loaded firearm, criminal conspiracy, possession of a controlled substance, gang enhancements, and loitering in a county park beyond hours of operation.
Photos: courtesy Santa Barbara County Jail Booking, Santa Barbara County Sheriff
