Santa Maria
Garcia pleads not guilty in murder case
A Santa Maria man pleaded not guilty Tuesday to the murder of a local man who was found shot to death earlier this month in front of his apartment complex, said the case prosecutor.
Gilberto Garcia Jr. is facing one count of first-degree murder and special allegations that he used a handgun causing death, according to Patricia Kelly, deputy district attorney for Santa Barbara County.
The defendant is due back in Superior Court in Santa Maria on Sept. 4.
George Robertson, 30, suffered a gunshot wound to his head in the early morning hours of
Aug. 9. His body was found in his car in the 1000 block of South Railroad Avenue.
Garcia, 24, and Roy Duran Jr., 26, also of Santa Maria, were later identified by police as the suspects in the fatal shooting. Duran remains at large.
Los Alamos
Cleanup closes down lane on Hwy. 101
One lane of northbound Highway 101 just south of Palmer Road was closed throughout the day Tuesday as crews cleaned up in the remnants of a big-rig fire that happened in the early morning hours.
The lane reopened late Tuesday afternoon, reported the California Highway Patrol.
Crews had hoped to reopen the lane by mid-day, but wrestled with removing the melted wreckage, CHP Sgt. John Ploetz said.
No injuries were reported when the truck became almost fully engulfed in fire between 3:30 and 4 a.m., added CHP Officer Gus Lopez.
A call came in about 3:30 a.m. of a big rig with a wheel on fire, he said. The truck was still moving, but eventually stopped in the northbound slow lane.
The fire spread throughout the trailer and cab, which the CHP dispatch said was hauling asparagus.
The fire was so hot that it melted the trailer into two separate pieces, Lopez said.
Pismo Beach
Man injured in midday accident
A 63-year-old Pismo Beach man suffered major injuries Tuesday when his car crossed the double-yellow line on Los Osos Valley Road, hitting another vehicle head-on, according to the CHP.
James Chipman was driving his 1983 Toyota westbound at about 55 mph shortly before noon when for unknown reasons he allowed the car to drift into oncoming traffic, the CHP said.
Several vehicles swerved to avoid hitting Chipman, who collided head-on with a 2000 Audi, driven by 62-year-old Vicki Milledge of Los Osos, according to the CHP.
Both were taken to Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center in San Luis Obispo with major injuries.
Pismo Beach
Sobriety checkpoint planned for Thursday
The Pismo Beach Police Department will conduct a sobriety checkpoint somewhere in the city Thursday in an attempt to get intoxicated drivers off the streets and roadways, according to the San Luis Obispo County DUI Task Force.
Officers will screen motorists as they pass through the checkpoint, searching for those driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs as well as other violations. If a driver is found to be impaired at the checkpoint, he or she will be arrested, a Task Force spokeswoman said.
Pismo's DUI checkpoint is sponsored by a grant from the state Office of Traffic Safety, and part of a statewide effort by law enforcement to keep drunken drivers off the roads during the Labor Day weekend, the spokeswoman said.
San Luis Obispo
Donations did not meet expectations
Blood donations late last week were below projections, causing the Blood Center to increase its appeal for blood this week.
Another 1,390 pints of blood were needed by Friday in order to maintain an adequate supply going into the Labor Day holiday weekend, officials said.
Centers in San Luis Obispo and Santa Maria are open Wednesday and Thursday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Additionally, the centers are staying open an hour later on Friday - 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. - to accommodate donors before the holiday.
United Blood Centers are located in San Luis Obispo at 4119 Broad St. in the Creekside Center; in Santa Maria at 1770 S. Broadway in the Plum Tree Plaza; and at various blood drive locations throughout the region.
To make an appointment, call United Blood Services Center in San Luis Obispo at 543-4290 or the United Blood Services Center in Santa Maria
at 928-2546 or visit www.united
bloodservices.org/central coast.
Arroyo Grande
Man killed in Sunday crash identified
The man killed in a crash Sunday morning on Highway 101 south of El Campo Road has been identified by the San Luis Obispo County Coroner's Office as Ezequiel Gutierrez, 18, of Watsonville.
Gutierrez, a Mexican national, was killed and two others were severely injured just outside Arroyo Grande when the vehicle in which they were traveling left the highway, continued down a 30-foot embankment, overturned and caught fire. A CHP officer was able to extinguish the small blaze.
The driver of the vehicle, Apolinar M. Rodriguez, 28, of Watsonville, was arrested on suspicion of felony drunken driving and manslaughter, according to the CHP.
Rodriguez and Benito Salvador, 18, also of Watsonville, were taken to Arroyo Grande Community Hospital with major injuries.
Rodriguez had been released from the hospital and was in San Luis Obispo County Jail on Tuesday without bail due to an Immigration and Naturalization Service hold.
Salvador was expected to be released from the hospital on Tuesday, said a hospital spokeswoman.
- From staff reports
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