Man Stabbed During Altercation at Party on Sunday

A 19-year-old man was stabbed at around 12:30 a.m. on Sunday, December 13, following a party at 554 Coronel Place in Santa Barbara. According to police reports, around 150 people had attended a courtyard party at a residence where a conflict arose involving a group of alleged gang members who demanded alcohol. This group eventually left. When discussing the incident with a friend, however, the 19-year-old man pointed out another man – later identified as 25-year-old Joseph Ramos – as a witness to the dispute. This, in turn, caused a fight between the 19-year-old man and Ramos and, consequently, the 19-year-old suffered a single stab into the stomach to the stomach. He was immediately transported to Cottage Hospital where he underwent surgery. He is now considered to be in stable condition.

Police say that Ramos fled the scene after the incident, but then turned himself into the police in the company of his lawyer at 6:30 p.m. that same day. He was arrested on charges of assault with a deadly weapon and held on $30,000 bail.

Police spokesperson Sgt. Lorenzo Duarte characterized the party as one attended by Santa Barbara City College students and said that the 19-year-old man who was stabbed is not a gang member. He also said that the investigation has not indicated that Ramos is one of the people who initially argued with the party’s host for alcohol. “There is no indication of that,” said Duarte, who explained that Ramos was apparently angry just for being labeled a witness to the original altercation. “You get alcohol involved and sometimes things just don’t make sense,” Duarte said.