SANTA BARBARA COUNTY –
In a world where Apple Pay, Zelle, and Paypal are ubiquitous and retail clerks often look
askance at shoppers proffering U.S. currency as a form of payment for purchases, the crime of
cashing a forged check seems almost anachronistic.
But apparently a pair of Santa Maria citizens aren’t exactly digital-tech savants. When 31-year-
old Richard Martinez walked into a Santa Maria bank and tried to cash a forged check, it didn’t
take the bank teller long to feel like she was in a film noir scene featuring Lana Turner and John
Garfield as crooks on the run from the law, whereupon she promptly conveyed her suspicions
to the branch manager. The manager called 911 and reported the incident while providing “a
detailed description of the suspect who fled the bank on foot just as deputies arrived.”
The immediately ensuing foot pursuit, wherein Martinez ran through a nearby discount store
and then exited “out the back door,” included the establishment of a secure search perimeter
and the assistance of both a Sheriff’s K9 Unit and the County Air Support helicopter. While the
search for Martinez was ongoing, deputies made contact with “another suspicious subject,” 31-
year-old Santa Maria resident Carolos Alonso. After a field interrogation, Alonso was
“determined to be Martinez’s accomplice” and was taken into custody.
Just an hour later, Martinez was spotted on a nearby thoroughfare and was taken into custody.
Both men were transported to Santa Barbara County Jail, where they were booked on charges
of conspiracy, burglary, forgery, and fabricating a fictitious check. Martinez—with several
outstanding warrants bearing his name—is currently held without bail, while Alonso’s bail is set
at $20,000.
by Robert L. McCullough
