On 11/30, a county judge sentenced 50-year-old Javier Aguila to 210 years to life in prison for molesting five boys over several years. Aguila, a Los Olivos native, was found guilty by Superior Court Judge Jed Beebe on multiple counts of sexual crimes. Aguila received an additional four years on two felony counts of dissuading a witness. Defense attorney Michael Scott says his client steadfastly claims he is innocent and did not receive a fair trial.
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Lowell Bowling, 29, died in Santa Barbara County Jail on 11/25. Deputies conducting a morning count at the main jail facility in Goleta found Bowling unresponsive on his bunk just before 9 a.m. He was pronounced dead 40 minutes later at Cottage Hospital. He had been in jail for two weeks for alleged probation violation and possession of a controlled substance. Investigators are currently looking into his death.
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The County Board of Supervisors on 12/1 officially banned alcohol from all Isla Vistan beaches. The ordinance sprang up after a large beach party, Floatopia, left the beaches littered. Supervisors shut down plans for a second Floatopia, installing a temporary ordinance banning alcohol on the beach. Now, permits will be required to host events with alcohol on beaches in I.V.