The trial for the alleged killers of 28-year-old Anthony Ibarra began its second week of testimony on Jan. 20 at the Santa Maria Juvenile Court, with Angel Escobar being called to testify.
Occasionally mumbling his answers and slouching in his seat, Escobar, 29, testified that he was inside his sister’s house in the 1100 block of Donovan Road on March 17, 2013—which is where and when Ibarra was allegedly tortured and killed. Escobar recounted what he remembered from the moments before Ibarra’s death.
Ibarra was ultimately found dead inside the back of a U-Haul moving truck in a residential Orcutt neighborhood. Six defendants—Ramon Maldonado, Reyes Gonzales, David Maldonado, Santos Sauceda, Anthony Solis, and Jason Castillo—are being tried for the alleged gang-style murder stemming from a drug debt.
Reading from the official grand jury transcript taken in May 2013, Senior Deputy District Attorney Ann Bramsen cross-examined Escobar on Jan. 20 about the events that took place inside the residence. She also asked him if his answers in the grand jury testimony were true.
During that cross-examination, Escobar said that Maldonado—whom he referred to as “Crazy Ray”—told his sister Marissa to call Ibarra and tell him to come to the house under the pretense of buying drugs. According to Escobar, some of the defendants emerged from a back room in the house, where they had been waiting, and rushed Ibarra as soon as he arrived.
“They were just surrounding him like a mob,” Escobar said.
Escobar testified that the men were kicking and punching Ibarra and that he saw Maldonado stab Ibarra at least once, adding that Ibarra begged for them to stop. At one point, Bramsen asked Escobar to describe those moments to her as if he was explaining them to his son. The defense objected.
“I wouldn’t describe something like that to him,” Escobar said.
Escobar testified that he was in another room when he heard Maldonado tell Ibarra to remove all of his clothes and then told Ibarra to recite his “ABCs” in Spanish.
Escobar said he then heard Maldonado say, “Everybody get a piece of that,” adding that he could hear Ibarra crying during the attack. After the cries fell silent, Escobar said Maldonado emerged from the room “excited” and “pumped-up.” Escobar recalled that Maldonado told him he then had to go to church.
Escobar then told Bramsen that Maldonado threatened him and his family with the same “repercussions and consequences” if they told anyone what happened. Escobar’s sister, Marissa, testified last week.
The trial is expected to continue throughout the week and into February.
This article appears in Jan 22-29, 2015.