Two teens charged with murder, one teen with accessory in Dec. 2022 Stearns Wharf homicide

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – District Attorney John Savrnoch announced Friday that three teenagers have been charged in connection with the killing of Robert Gutierrez at Stearns Wharf on Dec. 9, 2022.

Two of the teens, both age 15, were charged with murder and with the special allegation that they discharged a firearm proximately causing death, according to the DA.

The third, age 16, was charged with being an accessory after the fact to the murder and with illegal possession of an unregistered firearm.

All three remain in custody and are scheduled to be arraigned at the Santa Maria Juvenile Court on Feb. 21, according to the DA.

Police arrested the three juveniles on Feb. 16 after further investigation connected them to the homicide, according to the Santa Barbara Police Department.

Earlier on in this case, SBPD, with the assistance of outside agencies, arrested four men in connection to the homicide on Jan. 19.

Following these arrests, detectives continued to investigate and found that the three juveniles arrested Thursday also played a role in the murder of the 52-year-old Camarillo resident.

SBPD said officers, assisted by several outside agencies, served search and arrest warrants at multiple locations in Los Angeles County and Ventura County in arresting the juveniles.

The four men previously arrested are facing charges of murder – with special allegations of committing the murder for the benefit of a criminal street gang and principal use of a handgun, conspiracy to commit murder, and criminal street gang conspiracy.

On Dec. 9, Gutierrez was an innocent bystander who was in Santa Barbara with his wife walking on Stearns Wharf when he was struck and killed by one of the rounds fired during an altercation between two groups of individuals at the base of the wharf, according to SBPD. 

"One group involved in the altercation has been identified as local Santa Barbara area residents with ties to a local Santa Barbara street gang," said the department. "The opposing group in the altercation has been identified as Ventura County residents with ties to Ventura County street gangs."

Police are asking anyone with information regarding this homicide investigation to call the Santa Barbara Police Department Detective Bureau at 805-897-2347.

A GoFundMe for Robert Gutierrez, the shooting victim at Stearns Wharf, set up with an original goal of $15,000 to help his wife Gerallie and two daughters, Ariana and Carissa, has raised over $46,220 as of Feb. 18.