The Santa Maria Police Department (SMPD) made one arrest related to burglaries at local businesses and issued a request for the public to assist in locating another suspect for a separate case of armed robbery.
On Jan. 25, the department announced it had identified and arrested a suspect of several robberies that occurred one month earlier. Officials stated that Darrik Paul Cuevas, 31, was contacted by SMPD officers at a house in Santa Maria and booked without incident in the Santa Barbara County Jail on three counts of robbery. The county District Attorney’s Office announced shortly after that it had filed the charges against Cuevas.
Five days later, the SMPD sent out a request for public assistance in locating Cruz Antonio Guillen, 19, who is wanted in connected to an armed robbery in Santa Maria. Guillen is considered armed and dangerous, the department stated, and the public is advised not to approach the suspect.
Members of the public are encouraged to contact SMPD at (805) 928-3781 if they have any information on Guillen’s whereabouts.
Anonymous tips may be left at the Police Department’s website: cityofsantamaria.org.
This article appears in Feb 1-8, 2018.