A 35-year-old woman has been arrested and charged in connection with the murder of a 55-year-old man in Lompoc in March.
Lompoc Police say they believe the woman, identified as Darlene Rachelle Ybarra, stabbed Lompoc resident Eric Larsson to death on March 24. Ybarra is currently in custody and is facing a charge of felony murder with an enhancement for use of a deadly weapon.
Police discovered Larsson after responding to a 911 call at an address in the 400 block of South J Street, where Larsson was renting a room. Larsson had been stabbed and died of his wounds after being transported to Lompoc Valley Medical Center.
Lompoc police arrested Ybarra two days after the stabbing. In a written statement, police officials said they received information that Ybarra was at the J Street residence. Officers contacted her at the home, where she consented to an interview at the police station.
“During this interview, Ybarra made incriminating statements to detectives,” the department’s statement said. “As a result, she was arrested and booked into the Lompoc city jail for murder.”
On March 28, the Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office formally filed a murder charge against Ybarra. She appeared in court the same day, but did not enter a plea. Court records indicate that her next hearing is scheduled for April 4. Ybarra is currently in Santa Barbara County Jail on $2 million bail.
Past criminal cases filed against Ybarra in county court are misdemeanors, none of which were violence-related, according to court records. In January, she was charged with using or being under the influence of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia. Her sentence was deferred as part of a court-ordered drug diversion program. Court records show that other past charges include misdemeanor petty theft in 2011 and misdemeanor charges for drug use and willful cruelty to a child in 2009.
The police department did not respond to questions from the Sun about the nature of the relationship between Ybarra and Larsson.
Larsson’s death was the second homicide of 2019 in Lompoc. Police are still investigating the March 4 death of a 17-year-old babysitter killed by a stray bullet from a drive-by shooting. Police have not announced any arrests in that case.
This article appears in Apr 4-11, 2019.