Isac Vera, Facebook photo
SANTA BARBARA – Just as Santa Barbara’s busy downtown State Street swings into the Holiday Season, with restaurants, retailers, and bar owners anticipating strong year-end cash register activity, a December 12th incident in the middle of the heavily-trafficked commercial area may have put a temporary damper on the joys of visiting the Mission City.
It was late on the night of the 12th when, according to Santa Barbara Police Department Public Information Officer Sgt. Riley Harwood, a violent fight “which apparently started over a woman,” erupted at a downtown bar and quickly moved out onto the public sidewalk.
Pursuant to a 911 Emergency call summoning law enforcement intervention, more than a dozen SBPD officers responded to the scene, where they discovered “several people with significant injuries,” including a victim of a knife slashing to the face.
Multiple unconscious victims were at the scene and were promptly transported to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital for care.
Investigators at the scene soon determined that Bakersfield residents Ricardo Gomez, 23, Christopher Gomez, 20, and Isac Vera, 24, had initiated the confrontation and had “used hands and feet to assault people, including kicking people in the head.” Ricardo Gomez is further suspected of wielding a knife during the fight, as evidenced by surveillance video footage retrieved at the scene.
A fourth suspect, Daylen Shannon, 24, was implicated as initiating the combat.
All four suspects are residents of Bakersfield, and were transported to Santa Barbara County Jail, where they were booked on charges ranging from battering to assault with a deadly weapon.
The woman, referenced by Harwood as having been the inspiration for the fight remains mysteriously anonymous, is presumably enjoying her holiday shopping.
