Three men set to be arraigned on charges related to fatal December 2023 botched robbery
SANTA MARIA, Calif. – Three men are heading to trial on charges connected to what police described as a botched robbery during a house party on Cook Street in December of 2023 that resulted in the death of Joshua Anthony Maldonado and critical injuries to Agustin Villavicencio.
The trio were in court last week for a preliminary hearing where Santa Barbara County Superior Court Judge Stephen Dunkle agreed there was enough evidence to head to trial and all three men are scheduled for an arraignment on information on the following charges on Monday, March 17 with Judge Dunkle presiding.
In May of 2024, the Santa Maria Police Department shared that they believed all four men, including Joshua Anthony Maldonado, were involved in the attempted robbery.
According to charging documents filed on March 2, 2024, while all three men faced charges related to the attempted robbery, only one is facing charges of murder and attempted murder.
Andrew Paul Garcia, 34, is facing one count of felony murder and one count of felony attempted murder as well as multiple special allegations including the use of a firearm and that he has a prior conviction for violating California Penal Code 136.1(b)(1)-Attempting to Prevent or Dissuade a Witness or Victim detailed the complaint.
The other two men, 45-year-old Arnulfo Ramirez-Villavicencio Jr. and 35-year-old David Olaf Barajas, have been charged alongside Garcia for felony attempted second-degree robbery and felony conspiracy to commit a robbery stated the complaint.
Barajas has two prior convictions that qualify as strikes under California's Three Strikes Law and is currently incarcerated at North Kern State Prison on an unrelated crime noted the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office.
According to Count 4 -Felony Conspiracy to Commit a Robbery- of the charging document:
- All three charged men exchanged multiple phone calls to one another in the hours before the robbery
- Barajas drove Garcia and Joshua Maldonado to the 500 block of Cook Street the day of the robbery
- Garcia and Maldonado entered the party and demanded money while wearing black masks and holding firearms
- Garcia shot Agustin Villaviencio in the back which paralyzed him and then turned and shot two more times, killing Maldonado
- Garcia fled the scene and was picked up by Arnulfo Ramirez-Villacencio and the pair met Barajas in a Walmart parking lot before returning to Barajas' home in the 1700 block of North Russell
