Law and Disorder
The California Highway Patrol dealt with three separate accidents on or near the Santa Barbara County stretch of Highway 101 on 4/7. A 22-year-old West Covina man died just after midnight when his car struck a tree just north of Goleta. At 6:39 a.m., 23-year-old cyclist Johan Montoya sustained major brain injuries after being struck by a car at the Mission Street 101 onramp. At 1:42 p.m., 23-year-old Penelope Ayala flipped her car onto the Sheffield Drive 101 onramp near Summerland, injuring her arm and necessitating extrication from her car.
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Ricardo “Ricky” Juarez, the 15-year-old accused of murdering Luis Angel Linares in March 2007, was ordered this week to stand trial for murder by Judge Brian Hill. His arraignment is scheduled for 4/17, and his trial could begin by June, said Deputy District Attorney Hilary Dozer. The case was originally dismissed in February due to a procedural discrepancy, but Dozer refiled the charges, again charging Juarez as an adult.
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Gunshots in Goleta, fired before daylight on 4/6, sent seven bullets through car windows and one into a home on Nogal Drive. Believed to have been fired from a car, the shots were not reported until 9 a.m. that day. Sheriff’s deputies are still investigating but lack leads. Anyone with information is urged to call the Sheriff’s Department at 681-4100.
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Ampersand Publishing, parent company to the Santa Barbara News-Press, lost yet another of its dozen or so lawsuits against former employees. On 3/3, the National Labor Relations Board dismissed Ampersand’s claim that members of the Graphics Communications Conference of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters used threats or coercion to discourage sales of the paper at the Santa Barbara Farmers Market. The board ruled that the claim lacked evidence.
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Actor and Montecito resident Rob Lowe has filed a lawsuit against a former nanny, charging her with an elaborate sexual harassment scheme to shake him down for $1.5 million. Lowe also filed suits against two other former employees, claiming they stole prescription medications and engaged in sexual relations with other parties on the Lowes’ bed. Lowe is represented by Los Angeles attorney Stanton Stein, who also represents Santa Barbara News-Press owner Wendy McCaw.
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John and Gloria McManus, founders of the Santa Barbara-based Magellan’s International Travel Corporation, and former stockholder Robert Manning filed suit against the company’s new owners on 3/3, as part of a tussle over $1 million that has been sitting in an escrow account since the sale. A $30 million-a-year revenue generator with a shop on Sola Street, Magellan’s was purchased in 2005 by a group of investors including Santa Barbara-based Territory Ahead CEO Bruce Willard.
