Youth violence takes center stage at Santa Barbara City Council meeting
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. Santa Barbara saw two shootings in three months, four blocks apart. The first shooting on January 3 killed two teenagers and wounded two more on Liberty Street. The second shooting on March 29 killed a 23-year-old man on Eucalyptus Hill Road.
On Tuesday Santa Barbara’s City Council addressed the rise in gun violence. Santa Barbara Police Chief Bernard Melekian led the meeting’s special guest presentations. He said this year has been a tragic one already due to the rise in violence.
Santa Barbara city leaders are focusing to reduce violence among teens and young adults. In the special guest presentation, five different organizations addressed how they can keep Santa Barbara’s youths safer and have more positive options over gangs. Santa Barbara Unified School District Superintendent Hilda Maldonado said we’re only as good as our lowest-performing student.
By Noozhawk Editors
| 9:00 p.m.
Regarding Noozhawk’s April 8 article, “3 Arrested on Murder Charges in January Double Homicides on Santa Barbara’s Eastside,” many thanks are owed the Santa Barbara Police Department for the arrests in the Jan. 3 murders of two Santa Barbara High School students. As a resident of the neighborhood where the murders occurred, I’ve been resentful of how the case was handled, but I hope the suspects will be convicted and rot in prison.
Acting Police Chief Barney Melekian was quoted as saying, “As a society we must continue to work with the young people in our community to ensure that no more lives are lost.” I agree, and I hope the police will start with being more forthcoming with people like me who live in neighborhoods where gang members live. I’d like to see more police patrols.
3 arrested in connection to Santa Barbara double homicide keyt.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from keyt.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
3 Arrested on Murder Charges in January Double Homicides on Santa Barbara’s Eastside
Angel Eduardo Varela, Oscar Martin Trujillo-Gutierrez and Emilio Perez, all of Carpinteria, are taken into custody during major law enforcement operations in Summerland and Carpinteria
A Bearcat armored vehicle and SWAT team members on scene Thursday during a major law enforcement operation in Carpinteria that led to the arrest of three suspects in two January murders on Santa Barbara’s Eastside. (KEYT News photo) By Tom Bolton, Noozhawk Executive Editor | @tombol | UPDATED 12:01 p.m.
April 8, 2021
| 9:20 a.m.
Three men were arrested Thursday in connection with the murders of two young men on Santa Barbara s Eastside in early January, according to the Santa Barbara Police Department.
Bill Macfadyen: Details of Attempted Murder Case May Be Scant, But Public Interest Isn t | Coronavirus Crisis noozhawk.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from noozhawk.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.