It was during the early morning hours of March 11 when Kary Wise woke up to the sounds of a man screaming near her neighbor’s backyard located at 219 North L St. in Lompoc.
“You shot me! Help me! I can’t believe you shot me!” she heard someone shout, according to police reports.
That morning, Wise’s neighbor, 27-year-old Sterling Ranft, had shot an intruder with a shotgun, according to a report taken by the Lompoc Police Department. The man writhing on the ground was 29-year-old Vincent Michael Hernandez, who was suffering from a bloody gunshot wound in his buttocks, the report noted.
Ranft was arrested and charged with attempted murder, as well as other charges such as mayhem with an added enhancement of intentionally discharging a firearm causing great bodily injury. He pleaded not guilty.
At issue is whether or not Ranft acted in self-defense.
The arrest is just the latest episode in Ranft’s tumultuous life since moving back to Lompoc three years ago from Las Vegas, where Ranft had a hand in painting cars for the TV show Pawn Stars. Last August, the Sun profiled Ranft in a story about his home—among the oldest in Lompoc—that he accused the city of trying to take from him using harassing code enforcement measures.
But instead of losing a home, this time he’s facing the possibility of spending the rest of his life in prison.
Senior Deputy District Attorney Stephen Foley told the Sun he couldn’t comment on specifics of the case, citing protection of a fair trial.
According to a detailed police report obtained by the Sun, observations from nurses at Marian Regional Medical Center where Hernandez was treated note that the bullet passed through the left side of his thigh area, shattering his hip. The police report doesn’t mention whether the bullet entered from the front or back.
Adrian Galvan, Ranft’s court-appointed attorney, told the Sun that the facts in the case aren’t exactly as they appear. A larger bullet hole in the buttocks would indicate that Hernandez was shot in the front, according to Galvan, although it’s not clear if that’s the case.
“We have something to argue,” Galvan said, adding that several factors in the case lend to Ranft’s defense of reasonable, justified self-defense. “It’s not as clear as a prosecutor wants to paint it.”
Paul Ranft, Sterling’s father, said his son hasn’t had a fair shake since moving back to Lompoc from Las Vegas. In April 2015, Ranft was arrested by the Lompoc Police officers for allegedly operating an explosive butane hash oil lab in his backyard. City fire officials soon inspected the home and noted its dilapidated state, cutting off its gas and electricity.
“When he came back, it’s been nothing but profiling,” Ranft’s father said, adding that he believes that the city’s actions with code enforcement and the alleged constant police harassment have left his son in a distressed and paranoid state.
Several people were living on Ranft’s property at the time, including Hernandez. Many of them didn’t pay rent, nor would Ranft let them pay, according to previous interviews. And that’s the kind of person that neighbors and relatives said Ranft is, not a violent man.
One neighbor who goes by the name of “Jeff” in the report, told police that if Ranft saw an injured person outside he would have “stayed outside and helped them.”
The same neighbor told police that Ranft might have been friends with Hernandez in grade school. Hernandez’s court records show that he received a felony firearms conviction in 2007 and has gang ties.
But then something apparently went wrong between the two, and it’s not clear why. More interviews with neighbors contained in the police report stated that arguments regarding theft could be heard coming from Ranft’s property in the days leading up to the shooting. Problems with the city had left him “stressed out” and a “little jumpy,” one neighbor stated in the police report.
“My problem was a guy was sneaking up on me, [expletive] with a knife pulled in the middle of the night,” Ranft said, according to transcribed telephone calls recorded from jail. “It was dark and I couldn’t really see.”
Police noted that Ranft’s house was barricaded and a “no trespassing” sign was posted at the front with a message handwritten in black ink, “2nd amendment enter at maximum risk,” according to the report.
Ranft is currently being held on $1.5 million bail at the Santa Barbara County Jail. If convicted, Ranft faces life in prison.
Deputy DA Foley told the Sun that if convicted, Ranft has the options of going to trial on last year’s charges of manufacturing an illegal drug with the special allegation of having a firearm, or reaching an agreement.
Ranft’s trial starts Monday, July 11, at 9 a.m. in Department 6 of the Santa Maria Courthouse. The trial is expected to last eight to 10 court days, Galvan said.
Staff Writer David Minsky can be reached at dminsky@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Jul 7-14, 2016.