After less than two days of deliberation, a Santa Barbara jury found Robert Ibarra guilty of first degree murder.
Ibarra stabbed and killed Elias Silva at a friend’s Goleta apartment in the early morning hours of October 2, 2004.
The jury also found Ibarra guilty of the additional circumstances of lying in wait, personally using a knife, and committing the crime for the benefit, at the direction of, or in association with the Eastside street gang.
Ibarra is now the third individual found guilty of involvement in the murder. Robert Galindo, a key witness for the prosecution in this trial, pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in 2005 and awaits sentencing. Joshua Miracle pleaded guilty to murder in 2005 and is currently on death row.
Ibarra faces life in prison without the possibility of parole.