Man arrested for Intentionally Fatally running Wife down with Car
Photo: Stock Image
East Mountain Drive in the foothills of Montecito is a quiet enclave of multi-million-dollar residences where automobile traffic is infrequent and spotty. One could walk for an hour along the quiet roadway and never encounter a passing car.
But that thoroughfare was anything but quiet in the early morning hours of September 29, 2022. According to Santa Barbara County Senior Deputy District Attorney Hannah Meyer, Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department deputies were called to the East Mountain Drive area with “the report of a woman heard screaming.”
Responding deputies found 33-year-old Oxnard resident and mother of three Blanca Aguilera “with major injuries” sprawled in the roadway, the apparent victim of vehicular mayhem. Aguilera died of her injuries “about two hours later” at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital.
The immediately ensuing investigation pointed to Aguilera’s husband, 39-year-old Jose Roberto Munoz Sanchez as the man behind the wheel when he allegedly and intentionally ran her over with his car. Sanchez fled the scene and was not located until October 20, 2023 when he “turned himself in” at the U.S.-Mexico border, where he was promptly taken into custody by SBSD deputies.
Sanchez was transported to Santa Barbara County Jail, where he was booked on charges of first-degree homicide, “plus criminal enhancements alleging serious and violent murder.” He remains in custody with his bail set at $2,000,000.
