The Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office announced on May 23 that a criminal grand jury indicted nine defendants for the torture and murder of 28-year-old Santa Maria resident Anthony Ibarra, whose body was found in a U-Haul truck in Orcutt on March 19.
The grand jury indicted Ramon Maldonado, Reyes Gonzales, Jr., Santos Sauceda, David Maldonado, Robert Sosa, Anthony Solis, Verenisa Aviles, Ramon Maldonado, Jr., and Jason Castillo for murder and conspiracy to commit murder.
Ramon and David Maldonado, Gonzales, Sauceda, Sosa, Solis, and Castillo were also indicted for special allegations of lying in wait, torture, and kidnap, and for committing the crimes in furtherance of a criminal street gang. Ramon Maldonado was also indicted for witness intimidation with gang enhancement. Two additional suspects, Carmen Cardenas and Pedro Torres, were indicted for accessory after the fact to murder with gang enhancement.
Though only 14 years old, Maldonado, Jr. is being tried as an adult. He and Aviles face possible sentences of 25 years to life if convicted. The remaining murder suspects all face possible sentences of life without parole. Cardenas faces a maximum sentence of seven years, and Torres faces a maximum sentence of 10 years.
In an interview with the Sun, District Attorney Joyce Dudley said she chose to proceed with a criminal grand jury to expedite justice. The 19-person jury will act primarily without a judge, and the members must have probable cause to find the defendants guilty of the crimes for which they’ve been charged. No hearsay evidence will be admitted.
Dudley said in a case with so many defendants and so many lawyers, any one of the parties involved could ask for a continuance, and the trial “could go on and on forever.”
“I felt Santa Maria had been through so much with this case and it was important not to drag it out,” she said.
The DA said she decided not to pursue the death penalty because “the [capital punishment] system is dysfunctional” and doesn’t provide closure to victims’ families. She explained that death penalty sentences are rarely carried out in California and are instead caught up in decades of appeals.
“The average is 17 years of appeals,” she said.
Additionally, Dudley said she considers a sentence of life without the possibility of parole to be a significant punishment.
The defendants are expected back in court on June 6.
This article appears in May 30 – Jun 6, 2013.