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Santa Barbara News-Press: January 20, 2023

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Our 167th Year

Legendary singer dies

‘A Man Called Otto’

David Crosby, of the Byrds and Crosby, Stills and Nash, dies at 81 - A4

Review: Tom Hanks will make you laugh and cry in new movie - B1

75¢

F R I DAY, JA N UA RY 2 0 , 2 023

NEWS-PRESS EXCLUSIVE

Fentanyl case to go before judge in February

State Route 154 reopens Contractor with Caltrans removes debris, rocks and mud left by storm

By KATHERINE ZEHNDER NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

Court to consider preliminary hearing date By NEIL HARTSTEIN NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

A Lompoc couple has been charged with child abuse for exposing their three small children to fentanyl, including a 1-year-old boy who might have died had it not been for the first responders who used Narcon to revive him. In a three-count felony complaint, prosecutors charged Curtis Michael Roberts, 43, and Jessie Lacy McCoy, 36, with exposing their 1-year-old son, his 3-year-old sister and their 4year-old brother to child abuse under circumstances “likely to cause great bodily injury or death.” The criminal complaint alleges that on Jan. 5, the couple created conditions likely to cause their children “to suffer, and to be inflicted to with unjustifiable physical pain and mental suffering,” and that they did in fact, “willfully cause and permit said child to be placed in such situation that his/her person and health was/ were endangered.” The couple pleaded not guilty at their Jan. 9 arraignment and are due back in court on Feb. 15 to set a date for a preliminary hearing, at which a judge will decide whether prosecutors have presented sufficient evidence to hold them over for trial. If convicted of all charges, each defendant would be subject to a maximum sentence of eight years, eight months in state prison, Deputy District Attorney Madison Whitmore told the News-Press Thursday. Please see FENTANYL on A3

Four arrested in Stearns Wharf homicide case

KENNETH SONG / NEWS-PRESS PHOTOS

Traffic flows down State Route 154 Thursday. The highway, which connects Santa Barbara with Santa Ynez, reopened Wednesday night after a closure caused by the Jan. 9-10 storm.

By KATHERINE ZEHNDER NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

State Route 154 — a highway that connects Santa Barbara with Santa Ynez — officially reopened at 5 p.m. Wednesday, more than a week after the storm that caused its closure. Work was done to remove debris and mud from the highway in various locations. This included large rocks that fell onto the roadway. “We also performed work on our rock netting facilities to ensure they could withstand future rockfall,” Jim Shivers, public information officer for Caltrans District 5, told the NewsPress. The work included some earthwork. “The full closures are put in place to ensure the safety of all travelers,” Mr. Shivers said. “It

also allows us to perform our work more quickly, leading to a shorter closure period. “The public should adhere to all posted traffic safety signs, which relate to flooded conditions as these areas should not be entered,” Mr. Shivers said. The storm that slammed Santa Barbara County on Jan. 9 and 10 left debris and mud on State Route 154, Caltrans’ budget for “our 154 and (State Route) 246 emergency projects is $1.5 million. The contractor is CalPortland Construction,” said Mr. Shivers. (State Route 246 intersects with State Route 154 at Santa Ynez.) Mr. Shivers added that there is $6 million in emergency contracts for all of Santa Barbara County.

Four individuals were arrested Thursday in the Santa Barbara area in connection with the Dec. 9 homicide in the Stearns Wharf area. The Santa Barbara Police Department, Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office and Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office executed search-and-arrest warrants at several locations throughout the city and county of Santa Barbara. The following individuals are being booked at the Santa Barbara County Jail in connection with the murder of a shooting victim, Robert Dion Gutierrez, a 52-year-old Camarillo resident: — Jiram Tenorio Ramon, a 22-year-old Santa Barbara resident, was arrested in the area of Olive Mill and Coast Village Road in Montecito. — Ricardo Tomas Jauregui Moreno Jr., a 20-year-old Santa Barbara resident, was arrested in the 500 block of West Canon Perdido Street in Santa Barbara. — Christopher Dave Miranda, a 21-year-old Santa Barbara resident, was arrested in the 4800 block of Calle Real in Santa Barbara. — James Lee Rosborough, a 21-year-old Santa Barbara resident, was arrested in the 1400 block of Chino Street in Santa Barbara. A 16-year-old male (name withheld due to age) was also arrested in the 3900 block of Via Lucero and was booked at the Santa Barbara County Juvenile Hall in Santa Maria on suspicion of being a juvenile in possession of a firearm. Please see ARRESTS on A4

NEWS-PRESS EXCLUSIVE

email: kzehnder@newspress.com

Police Oversight Commission to hold first meeting

SB schools evacuated; streets blocked off

By NEIL HARTSTEIN

By KATHERINE ZEHNDER

NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

Students were evacuated Thursday afternoon at the EF International Language Campus at 1421 Chapala St. and the Notre Dame School at 33 E. Micheltorena St. Santa Barbara police blocked off Micheltorena Street at State, Chapala and De la Vina streets. Micheltorena Street intersects

KENNETH SONG / NEWS-PRESS

Students are evacuated from the EF International Language Campus, left, and the Notre Dame School, both in Santa Barbara.

those three parallel streets. The News-Press reached out to Sgt. Ethan Ragsdale, public information officer for Santa

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night that he wasn’t able to provide further details at that time. If the News-Press learns more today, an update will be posted at newspress.

com and published in the NewsPress Weekend on Saturday. email: kzehnder@newspress.com

LOTTERY

i n s i de Classified.............. B4 Life..................... B1-2 Obituaries............. A4

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Barbara Police Department, for more information. Sgt. Ragsdale told the News-Press just before press time Thursday

The city’s new Police Oversight Commission, created to promote accountability and transparency on the part of the Santa Barbara Police Department, will meet for the first time next week. The meeting of the fivePlease see OVERSIGHT on A3

Sudoku................. B3 Sports ................... A3 Weather................ A4

Wednesday’s SUPER LOTTO: 3-7-21-34-40 Mega: 22

Thursday’s DAILY 4: 3-6-0-2

Tuesday’s MEGA MILLIONS: 2-12-18-24-39 Mega: 18

Thursday’s FANTASY 5: 6-18-28-32-39

Thursday’s DAILY DERBY: 06-02-07 Time: 1:47.48

Wednesday’s POWERBALL: 6-15-22-42-47 Meganumber: 26

Thursday’s DAILY 3: 7-9-1 / Midday 8-3-3


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