Photo: Raymond Ramon Vega
Santa Barbara County – On the evening of October 12, 2019, at approximately 10:25 p.m., Lompoc Police Department patrol units responded to a 911 Emergency call reporting gunshots fired in a local area residential alleyway.
According to Lompoc Police Department spokesman Captain Kevin Martin, the cops rolled up to find “three victims with gunshot wounds.” One of those shooting victims, 15-year-old Erik Villa Vargas succumbed to his injuries at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Also wounded in the deadly assault were another juvenile male and an adult female. Both were treated by hospital staff and released.
The ensuing investigation lead detectives to identify 25-year-old Lompoc resident Raymond Ramon Vega as the likely suspect. Vega has reportedly been involved in “gang activity in the community. When he was contacted four days after the killing on October 16th, Vega “wielded the weapon that killed the teen,” and was promptly taken into custody.
Vega was transported to Santa Barbara County Jail, where he was booked on charges of murder and attempted murder. He also faces enhancements involving his activity in a criminal street gang and the fact that the killing involved the use of a firearm resulting in death.
Vega remains in custody with his bail set at $2,000,000, as police continue to “pursue additional suspects in connection with the incident.”
Photo: Courtesy Santa Barbara County Jail Booking
