Bringing a tragic chapter to a close, a Santa Barbara County judge on Feb. 17 sentenced Lompoc resident James Lujan to 75 years to life in prison for killing 4-year-old Diego Calles and torturing a young girl.
In the courtroom, Superior Court Judge Edward Bullard listened to grief-filled statements from Diego’s family, who wore T-shirts in honor of the boy’s memory and spoke directly to Lujan about the pain he had caused them. During the sentencing, Bullard characterized Lujan as “a broken man” who showed no remorse for his crimes.
Diego’s father, Anthony Calles III, mother Meagan Davis, and other family members expressed gratitude for the prosecution team led by Senior Deputy District Attorney Jerry McBeth, who called the case a “terrible tragedy.”
“It was a very difficult case to prosecute,” McBeth told the Sun. “It was gut wrenching. That always carries a heavy burden for everybody who’s involved in a case like that.”
Lujan, 30, would not be eligible for parole until age 105.
“It was satisfying to the extent that he will be incarcerated for the rest of his life,” McBeth said of the sentence. “Obviously, he’s not going to get out.”
On Dec. 17, 2010, a Santa Maria jury found Lujan guilty of second-degree murder, two counts of torture, and assault on an infant in Diego’s death. Jurors also found Lujan guilty of abusing a 17-month-old girl in 2006, but acquitted him on charges of battery on Davis, his girlfriend at the time of Diego’s death. Davis was previously sentenced to a year in county jail for failing to protect her son.
Prosecutors had sought a first-degree murder charge in Diego’s death. They said Lujan was so frustrated by Diego’s potty training troubles and speech impediment that he beat the boy in a Lompoc motel room over several days.
According to the county coroner, Diego died on July 18, 2009, from a ruptured intestine and internal bleeding caused by repeated blows to the stomach.
This article appears in Feb 24 – Mar 3, 2011.
