Police arrest 8 for Cottage Grove gang stabbing
Santa Barbara police officers and Santa Barbara County sheriff’s deputies served search warrants at seven locations in Santa Barbara and Goleta on Wednesday. They arrested three more suspects in connection to a gang stabbing on July 13, on the 200 block of Cottage Grove Avenue in Santa Barbara.
Police arrested five other suspects the night of the stabbing. Officers responded about 3:04 a.m. to a fight in progress. They found four people with stab wounds, two men and two women. Three of the victims were rushed to Cottage Hospital in Santa Barbara.
The following is the SBPD press release:
Community: Additional Arrests in Cottage Grove Stabbing InvestigationSANTA BARBARA, CA – July 25, 2013On July 24, 2013 detectives from the Santa Barbara Police Department and the SantaBarbara County Sheriff’s Office served search warrants at seven locations in SantaBarbara and Goleta as part of the ongoing investigation into the gang stabbingincident that took place on July 13, 2013 on the 200 block of Cottage Grove Avenue. Three additional suspects were arrested. Thus far, in this case eight individualshave been arrested and booked into Santa Barbara County Jail for attempted murderand participation in a criminal street gang.The following suspects were arrested after the incident on July 13, 2013:* Edgar Alberto Castellanos Lopez, age 23, of Santa Barbara* Abraham Vega, age 20, of Goleta* Jose Rene Santa Cruz, age 20, of Santa Barbara* Itzel Ramirez, age 20, of Santa Barbara* Rita Maria Rodriguez-Mejia, age 23, of Santa BarbaraThe following suspects were arrested on July 24, 2013:* Adrianna Rosemary Marie Burkett, age 22, of Santa Barbara* Nancy Moreno, age 22, of unincorporated Santa Barbara* Iris Pineda, age 23, of Santa BarbaraLopez, Ramirez, Rodriguez-Mejia, Burkett, and Pineda were booked with bail amountsof $1,100,000.00. Vega, Santa Cruz, and Moreno were booked with bail amounts of$1,200,000.00.Of the victims in this case, the two that were admitted to Santa Barbara CottageHospital for treatment have since been released.This investigation is still ongoing and additional details are being withheld.SANTA BARBARA, CA – July 13, 2013On July 13, 2013 at 3:04 a.m., Santa Barbara Police officers responded to the 200block of Cottage Grove Avenue on a call of a fight in progress. Some officersresponded directly to the scene. Other officers detained several subjects scatteredin the vicinity who showed signs of being involved in a fight. Officers at thescene located four people who had received stab wounds: two males and two females. Officers called for immediate medical emergency response. Two of the injured malesand one female were transported to Cottage Hospital for treatment. Of these, onemale and one female were admitted for treatment. Currently, these two victims arein stable medical condition.Detectives responded to coordinate the investigation. Substantial effort was madeto interview witnesses and locate evidence. As a result, five suspects have beenarrested in connection with this case. The suspects are three males and twofemales. Their ages range from 20-23 years of age. All five suspects have beencharged with attempted murder, and the allegation that this crime was committed infurtherance of a criminal street gang. Detectives say this case is gang related. At this point in the investigation, the suspects’ names and photos are beingwithheld.Anyone with additional information on this case is urged to contact Detective Ahrensat: 805-897-2348 .