Broccoli Field Stabbing Leads to Arrest

A 34-year-old Santa Maria man was airlifted to a local hospital in serious condition after he was allegedly stabbed multiple times by a fellow field worker, according to a press release from the Sheriff’s Department.

At approximately 9 a.m. on Thursday, suspect Margarito Cervantes-Lopez, 26, allegedly took the victim’s field knife and stabbed him several times as the two were cutting broccoli in a field near Betteravia Road and Foxen Canyon Road in the unincorporated area of Santa Maria.

Co-workers detained Cervantes-Lopez until Sheriff’s deputies arrived, taking him into custody and booking him into Santa Barbara County Jail on a charge of attempted murder.