Law and Disorder 4-9
The Sheriff is investigating the death of Lynne Carpenter Martyniuk, 45, as an apparent suicide after a passing motorist found her body on 4/4 beneath Cold Spring Canyon Bridge. Department spokesperson Drew Sugars said investigators do not yet know why Martyniuk would have wanted to commit suicide by jumping from the bridge but are still looking into the matter.
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A surfing accident on 4/1 claimed the life of 15-year-old Dos Pueblos High School student Lindsay Rose. Found floating in the water late in the afternoon at Sands Beach in Goleta, Rose, who competed on the DP surf team and was an avid softball player, was taken to Cottage Hospital, where she died on 4/5. The cause of death remains under investigation, though witnesses said the surf was unusually high, rough, and crowded for this time of year.
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Claudia Cabrera, 31, was arrested 4/3 for the hit-and-run accident that killed Santa Barbara native and USC freshman Adrianna Bachan, 18. Cabrera is currently being held on $1 million bail. Cabrera had reportedly been driving with a suspended license when she ran a red light and struck Bachan and a friend at around 3 a.m. There had been a $235,000 dollar award offered for information leading to the conviction of the driver. (/bachan409)
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The FBI announced 4/6 that the “Sleeves Bandit”-now identified as 54-year-old Aptos resident Michael Anthony Koselka-had been arrested in Marysville, California, after his attempted robbery of a Tri-Counties Bank branch that devolved into a car chase with police. Koselka is accused of at least 15 bank holdups between 11/26 and 3/21 up and down California, including three in Santa Barbara County. He faces attempted murder and armed robbery charges and will await trial at Sacramento County Jail.
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After several attempts to locate him, police arrested a 37-year-old Santa Barbara man 3/31 on charges of rape, penetration with a foreign object, and burglary. The suspect had been under investigation after several reports of a man entering residences and assaulting women while they slept. With the help of a nearby resident, authorities apprehended the man at his previous residence on the 600 block of East Cota Street. (/assault409)
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The Sheriff’s Department announced the 3/5 arrest of suspect Ezequiel Altamirano after a rash of Isla Vista auto burglaries. According to Sheriff’s Department reports, deputies witnessed Altamirano peering into a parked car with a flashlight and, after further investigation, linked him to 21 auto thefts in the area. He is being held in County Jail. The Sheriff’s Department has reported an immigration detainer and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency is conducting an investigation. (/burglar409)
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Tim Hale-the attorney representing 25 victims of child abuse at the hands of Franciscan friars-won a key procedural victory last week, mandating the release of confidential files of five priests acknowledged to be pedophiles. Though Hale expects the priests to appeal the decision, it will allow him to publish the psychiatric and employment files of the accused priests. Franciscans attorneys, however, argued that if confidential records between priests and their therapists are made public, fewer problem priests will seek the treatment they need. (/franciscan409)
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After receiving reports that fraudulent postings have asked apartment hunters for information usable in identity and asset theft, District Attorney Christie Stanley on 3/4 issued a warning to would-be renters using craigslist.org classifieds. The DA’s 4/3 press release advised apartment hunters to consider it a red flag if prospective landlords refuse to give phone numbers or contact information, and to never to wire money to an unfamiliar person or company in order to rent property. (/renter409)
