Santa Maria

Autopsies done on shooting victims

Autopsies have been completed on all four men killed when a local man allegedly opened fire on them March 18 at a Santa Maria auto salvage yard.

Lee Leeds, 31, of Santa Maria is suspected of fatally shooting Robert Louis Leeds, 66, the suspect's father and the owner of Black Road Auto; employees Golden Eli “Dave” Duboise, 45, and Terry Edward Majan, 37; and customer Ricardo Cardenas Leal, 33. All the victims were from Santa Maria.

Sgt. Alex Tipolt of the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department said the autopsies were finished late Tuesday and Wednesday.

Information on the autopsies' findings was unavailable.

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Los Padres

Man killed in car crash identified

The man killed in a car crash Saturday off the side of Romero Canyon Road in Los Padres National Forest has been identified as Michael Lawrence Courtney, 24, of Carpinteria.

The name was released Wednesday by the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department and the California Highway Patrol.

The crash occurred at 2:40 p.m. Saturday, about a mile north of East Camino Cielo, the CHP said.

Courtney was one of two occupants ejected from a late-model BMW sedan.

The car's other occupant, 19-year-old Vincent Ornelas of Carpinteria, suffered facial lacerations and complained of pain to his abdomen and neck.

A helicopter airlifted both victims to a U.S. Forest Service facility on San Marcos Pass, where they were transferred to an ambulance and taken to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital.

Courtney suffered a lacerated liver and was taken to emergency surgery, but succumbed to his injuries, the CHP reported.

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Lompoc

Three-vehicle collision on Hwy. 1

A three-vehicle collision at Highway 1 and Santa Lucia Canyon Road about 8:30 p.m. Tuesday sent two adults and an infant to Lompoc Hospital with minor injuries.

All three drivers lived in Lompoc or on Vandenberg Air Force Base, according to California Highway Patrol Officer Steve Fulmer.

According to the CHP report, driver Josh Holt was pulling onto Highway 1 when his Dodge Neon collided with the southbound pick-up truck of Robert Tronu III.

“The impact pushed the truck across the road, and it collided with a car traveling northbound on Highway 1,” Fulmer said.

The driver of the northbound car, Ieasha Burr, and an infant were transported, along with Tronu, to Lompoc Hospital, according to County Fire spokesman Capt. Eli Iskow.

All three cars sustained major damage and were towed away.

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Lompoc

Car crashes through front of building

No one was injured Tuesday night when a vehicle crashed through the front of a building in the 100 block of West Pine Street in Lompoc.

Just after 8 p.m., police received reports about a vehicle that had crashed through the Artificial Kidney Center. Two employees were in the business at the time.

The vehicle hit a plate glass window, continued through the building through double doors and stopped about 50 feet inside in a storage area, police said.

Police said the driver, whose name they did not release, suffered a medical condition that caused the crash. No citations were issued but the driver is being referred to the Department of Motor Vehicles for re-examination.

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Solvang

Liddi becomes city's new police chief

The city's new police chief is Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Lt. Mark Liddi.

Liddi succeeds Lt. Phil Willis, who has been re-assigned to the Sheriff's Department's training division. Willis had served as police chief for three years. Solvang contracts with the Sheriff's Department for law-enforcement services.

The Solvang police chief's assignment includes command of the Santa Ynez/Solvang sheriff's station.

A Buellton resident, Liddi has worked in the sheriff's forensics bureau for the past three years. He previously spent six years in the Santa Ynez Valley as a field supervisor, and other assignments have included patrol, special operations and major crimes detective.

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SLO County

Mower exchange now under way

Registration is now open for San Luis Obispo County residents who want to participate in the 2008 “Mow Down Air Pollution” lawnmower exchange program.

County residents can register online or by phone to trade in their old gas-guzzling lawnmowers for new Neuton battery-powered electric lawnmowers at less than half the retail price, said a spokeswoman for the County Air Pollution Control District.

Through the program, the district will offer 615 residents the opportunity to purchase a 24-volt, cordless, rechargeable lawnmower, with a retail value of $399, for the reduced price of $160 in exchange for a working, gasoline-powered lawnmower.

Participants can make the exchange from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, May 31, at Nipomo High School. Preregistration is required, and proof of county residency must be supplied at the event. Cash, checks and major credit cards will be accepted.

To sign up and for more information, visit www.c-5.org/

mower or call 781-1003. Phone registration is open from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday.

- From staff reports