Santa Maria
Ridgecrest man held in child abuse case
A registered sex offender from Ridgecrest has been arrested in connection with the alleged sexual abuse of a child in Santa Maria from 2000 to 2003.
Charles Paul Fernandez, 42, was arrested last week at his home on suspicion of aggravated sexual assault against a minor child, according to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department.
He was being held without bail Wednesday at County Jail.
At the time of the alleged abuse, Fernandez was dating the victim's mother and working for Lockheed Martin, according to the Sheriff's Department.
In 2005, Fernandez was convicted of the sexual assault of a different child, and was ordered to register as a sex offender in Kern County.
Fernandez has lived in the past years in Ridgecrest, Clear Lake, Texas; and Phoenix. Fernandez may have had other dating relationships with single mothers in these cities, the Sheriff's Department said.
Anyone with information on Fernandez is encouraged to contact Det. Ruby Wolff at
934-6171.
San Luis Obispo
Trial up in the air for man accused in death
A Santa Maria man accused of killing his girlfriend's son by burying the youngster in the sand on July 4 at Pismo State Beach still doesn't know whether he'll stand trial for the boy's death.
Juan Francisco Nunez, 24, was in court Wednesday for a preliminary hearing to determine whether he'll stand trial on charges of felony manslaughter and child endangerment for the death of 5-year-old Jesse Alvarez.
The hearing was postponed because Nunez's public defender, Mike Adams, was ill and couldn't make it to the courthouse. Judge Donald Umhofer ordered the attorneys to return to court Friday to pick a new date for the preliminary hearing.
Nunez, who was in custody at County Jail in lieu of $1 million bail, is accused of burying Jesse in the sand up to his neck and then covering his face with sand, which caused the Santa Maria youngster to stop breathing, according to police reports.
After realizing Jesse wasn't breathing, his mother, Stacy Baiza, and Nunez tried to clear Jesse's airways by pouring Pepsi and then water into his mouth, according to Chief Deputy District Attorney Jerret Gran.
Attempts to revive the youngster were unsuccessful, and Jesse was taken to Arroyo Grande Community Hospital, where he later died.
An autopsy revealed the boy died from asphyxiation, officials said.
Goleta
Fire crews quickly douse small grass fire
The Santa Barbara County Fire Department doused a quarter-acre grass fire in just over 30 minutes Wednesday afternoon on the Bishop Ranch in Goleta.
Three engine companies responded to the ranch, south of Cathedral Oaks Road, between Los Carneros and Glen Annie roads. The blaze was contained in 15 minutes and extinguished in 34 minutes, according to Capt. Eli Iskow.
There were no injuries or damaged structures, and the cause of the fire was under investigation, he said.
Santa Maria
1 candidate qualifies to challenge mayor
Ernest Armenta has qualified as the lone challenger to incumbent Mayor Larry Lavagnino in the November election.
Armenta filed late in the day Friday, and his nomination form signatures were verified by Santa Barbara County elections officials this week.
Three candidates - incumbent councilmen Bob Orach and Leo Trujillo and newcomer Mike Cordero, a city police lieutenant - will be vying for two council seats.
Two other Santa Maria incumbents, City Clerk Patty Rodriguez and City Treasurer Theresa Hall, are facing no challengers for their respective posts.
A group of four candidates have qualified for the race for three Santa Maria Public Airport District board seats.
Incumbent Carl Engel and newcomers Charles Adams, Hugh Rafferty and Girard Geoffrey Brenneman are on the ballot.
Two incumbents, Don Lahr and John Will, are not seeking another term.
Vandenberg AFB
Local couple to detail missionary work
Physicians Jennifer and Michael Parsa of Orcutt will give a slide-show presentation about their missionary work in rural Papua New Guinea at 7 p.m. Friday at the Church of Christ, 3875 Constellation Road, Vandenberg Village.
-- From staff reports
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