Bike SLO County leader enters plea in child molestation case
By KAREN VELIE The former executive director of Bike SLO County pleaded no contest on Thursday to one count for molesting his 6-year-old step-granddaughter in a hot tub last year. As a result of his plea, Richard Ellison is facing a sentence of up to one year in the San...
Santa Maria police arrest teen gang member with firearm
By JOSH FRIEDMAN Santa Maria police officers on Thursday arrested a teenage gang member who was allegedly in possession of an illegal firearm and ammunition. Shortly before 5 p.m., the Santa Maria Police Department’s Gang Suppression Team conducted a probation compliance check at a home in the 300 block of...
Man who transported teen from Nipomo to Mexico for sex sentenced
By JOSH FRIEDMAN A man who took an Arizona teen from her grandmother’s home in Nipomo to Mexico for illicit sexual activity received a sentence on Wednesday of 45 years in federal prison. Daniel Navarro, 42, of Victorville, was found guilty last July of two counts of sexual exploitation of...
Oh California, where art thou?
OPINION by JOHN SUMMER It didn’t begin well. My mom’s family moved to San Diego in 1940 from Colorado. It was a relief from working the coal mines in Crested Butte. California was truly a promised land. And it was, for a while. Then on Christmas Eve of that year,...
Crews search Pirate’s Cove area for missing Arroyo Grande man
By JOSH FRIEDMAN Search and rescue crews are trying to find a 72-year-old Arroyo Grande man who hasn’t been seen since Monday and whose vehicle was found near Pirate’s Cove. On Tuesday, deputies responded to missing person report at Pirate’s Cove. The missing man is Gary Kiehl, according to the...
Carpinteria caregiver arrested for stealing from patient
By JOSH FRIEDMAN Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s detectives arrested a Carpinteria man late last month on multiple felony charges related to elder financial abuse. On April 25, a relative of a care patient in Goleta discovered suspicious activity involving the elderly person’s checking account. The suspicious activity included an unexplained...
Police investigating alleged rape in UC Santa Barbara dorm
By JOSH FRIEDMAN University of California Santa Barbara Police are investigating an alleged rape that reportedly occurred in a dorm on Saturday night. At about 11 p.m., a caller reported a rape at campus housing to the UCSB Police Department. The suspect and the alleged victim met earlier in the...
