Angel Verela and Oscar Trujillo-Gutierrez sentenced in connection with 2021 double homicide in Santa Barbara

SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif. (KEYT) – Angel Varela and Oscar Trujillo-Gutierrez were sentenced this week in connection with a with a 2021 double homicide in Santa Barbara.

Both men were charged with two counts of murder and two counts of attempted murder, all for the benefit of a criminal street gang and involving a firearm in November of 2023 and in January of this year, the pair were convicted of their charges.

Varela was sentenced to two life terms without parole in addition to 133 years to life in state prison and Trujillo-Gutierrez was sentenced to two life terms without the potential for parole in addition to 33 years to life noted the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office.

A juvenile involved in the fatal 2021 attack was prosecuted in Juvenile Court and convicted of two counts of premeditated and deliberate first-degree murder and two counts of premeditated and deliberate murder for the benefit of a gang noted the local prosecutor's office.

According to the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office, on the evening of Jan. 3, 2021, Varela, Trujillo-Gutierrez, and a juvenile drove from Carpinteria before attacking a group of rival gang members in the 1200 block of Liberty Street in Santa Barbara.

The shooting resulted in the deaths of two people and injuries to two others and was investigated by the Santa Barbara Police Department detailed the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office.

Both Varela and Trujillo-Gutierrez were also convicted of an unrelated felony assault that happened while they were incarcerated at the Santa Barbara County Jail added the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office.