Parolee Shot Dead by Local Law Enforcement

SANTA BARBARA COUNTY – Authorities say law enforcement officers have shot and killed an armed parolee. Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s spokesman Drew Sugars says in a release that deputies and Santa Maria police officers tracked down 22-year-old parolee and documented gang member Jose Luis Ortega Thursday morning while he was a passenger in a vehicle near Bunny Avenue and Lincoln Street in Santa Maria. After a sudden stop, Ortega jumped out of the car and began running. Sugars says within moments multiple gunshots were fired, but he did not say how many or who fired them. Ortega was struck by one bullet and died at the scene. Authorities say Ortega was carrying a weapon, but it was not clear whether he fired it. Two others in Ortega’s vehicle were arrested for being under the influence of a controlled substance. The name of the officers and deputies involved has yet to be released.