Santa Maria

Not guilty pleas made on murder charges

Two Guadalupe men pleaded not guilty Monday to murder charges in connection with a fatal stabbing the night of

Aug. 16 in front of a Guadalupe liquor store.

Jose Juan Morales Jr., 27, and Arturo Franco Palomar Jr., 25, have each been charged with murder in the death of James Michael Christie, 24, of Santa Maria.

Morales and Palomar were arraigned Monday in Santa Barbara County Superior Court in Santa Maria, said prosecutor Gene Martinez.

The defendants, along with two other Guadalupe residents, Francisco Javier Rodriguez Jr., 30, and Leonel Adrian Torres, 24, were allegedly involved in an altercation with Christie that culminated in the victim being stabbed.

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Rodriguez and Torres remain at large. Palomar and Morales are due back in court Sept. 29.

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Santa Maria

Identity released on body found in park

The Santa Maria Police Department has released the name of a man found dead in July in Central Plaza Park on North Broadway.

Police were initially investigating the death of William Hallman, an elderly transient, as suspicious based on the position of the body and some of his property being strewn about.

However, they have since said that Hallman appears to have died of natural causes.

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Santa Barbara County

Forced shutdown lifted on Greka

County officials lifted a forced shutdown of the Greka Oil and Gas-owned UCAL facility near Santa Maria Monday because more than 140 violations were corrected, according to county staff.

Stipulations and conditions were put in place, and should Greka not comply, the facility will be forced to shut down again, county officials said.

County inspectors placed the stop-work order on the facility after reports of waste-water ponds breaching containment, and because of outstanding violations from previous inspections.

The Greka Bradley 3 Island facility on Telephone Road in Santa Maria is still shut down, and the county has charged the company for approximately $400,000 in fines, which Greka has appealed.

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Nipomo

Teen to be in SLO court next week

A teenager arrested on suspicion of driving while intoxicated and vehicular manslaughter after rolling his pickup three times, killing one of his passengers, is scheduled to make his first court appearance next month.

Jesse A. Hope, 19, of Norwalk, was arrested and booked into San Luis Obispo County Jail in lieu of $100,000 bail shortly after the Aug. 21 crash that left one person dead and two with injuries.

Chadrik T. Miller, 20, of Fountain Valley was killed in the single-vehicle crash.

As of Monday, Hope had posted bail and was scheduled to appear in San Luis Obispo County Superior Court on Sept. 3, according to the District Attorney's Office, which hadn't filed charges against the teen yet.

However, the California Highway Patrol is recommending Hope be charged with one felony count of drunken driving and felony vehicular manslaughter, said CHP Officer Joe Vega.

At the time of the crash there was an unconfirmed report that a Chrysler PT Cruiser had made an unsafe lane change, causing Hope to lose control, but on Monday Vega said no other vehicles were involved.

“There's no evidence to substantiate that a PT Cruiser was involved in the accident in any way,” Vega said, adding the CHP has concluded its investigation.

Cydney L. Bonilla, 20, of San Clemente, and Robert A. Chamberlain, 20, of Huntington Beach, were injured in the crash. Chamberlain was in serious condition Monday at Marian Medical Center in Santa Maria, and Bonilla had been discharged, a hospital spokeswoman said.

- From staff reports