Bail Inflation and More Charges for Gangbanging Sexual Batterers
Santa Barbara – As reported here just this week, Edgar Jesus Rojas, 18, and Jose Angel Moran, 19, were arrested while hiding and resisting officers in a densely-populated Eastside residential area on November 21st. Felony charges against the pair at that time included felony sexual battery upon a 52 year-old female pedestrian, possession of vandalism tools, and carrying a concealed dirk or dagger. Their bail on those charges was set at $25,000 each.
Jose Angel Moran
But those bail amounts were dramatically increased on November 25th, according to Santa Barbara Police Department Public Information Officer Sgt. Riley Harwood when further investigation into Rojas and Moran revealed them to have been “in possession of property that officers suspected was stolen” at the time of their initial arrests.
That property was traced to a number of burglaries, auto burglaries, and robberies that had taken place within the city and included a wide variety of items, including “two cell phones, a flashlight, and papers…taken during an armed robbery” on the night of the alleged sexual assault. In detailing the evidence surrounding the alleged armed robbery, Harwood reported that “Rojas, armed with a knife, and Moran, armed with a crowbar, identified themselves as gang members and robbed a 27 year-old man” less than an hour prior to, and only a block away from the subsequent sexual assault.
Edgar Jesus Rojas
Still in custody on the original sexual assault booking, they were arrested and booked again on November 25th on charges of petty theft, possession of stolen property, armed robbery, and participation in a criminal street gang, with additional bail amounts of $90,000 each.
Photos: Courtesy Santa Barbara County Jail Booking
Read more:
KSBY: Men arrested in connection with sexual battery linked to other crimes
Noozhawk: Sexual Battery suspects now facing robbery, other charges
