Eastside Gang Members Sentenced

For a crime they committed nearly three years ago, three Eastside gang members will be spending a combined 56 years and eight months in state prison.

The three — Omar Ramos, Erick Roman, and Ricardo Nava — all pleaded guilty to attempted murder with a gang enhancement in accordance with their plea deal struck with the District Attorney’s Office, and were sentenced in Santa Barbara Superior Court on January 25.

Ramos was sentenced to 20 years, both for the aforementioned charges and for a gang strike. Roman received a total of 17 years and 8 months in prison. Nava’s sentencing will have him in prison for the next 19 years. According to prosecutor Hans Almgren, the three attacked a rival Westside gang member on June 28, 2007 on the 600 block of Del Monte Avenue. The attackers used knives and a baseball bat to attack the rival gang member.

Nava is also facing a murder charge in the July 2007 stabbing death of Lorenzo Carachure on the Westside. His trial in that case is expected in April. Ramos was originally named in a federal indictment which included several Eastside gang members, resulting in dozens of arrests in 2008’s Operation Gator Roll.

In front of their family members Monday, Ramos, Roman, and Nava were given some heavy-handed advice from Judge Frank Ochoa. Calling them young men, Judge Frank Ochoa said, “It’s up to you to decide how to make your life different once you’re back on the street.”