Lompoc Man Sentenced to Life for Murdering Girlfriend

Brenden Michael Terry, 21, of Lompoc, was sentenced to 28 years to life in prison after pleading guilty to the murder of his girlfriend Sarah Stoffle, 18, according to an announcement today by the Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office.

Stoffle, who had moved to Lompoc from Texas, was found deceased from a gunshot wound in a residence on the 300 Block of North Y Street in Lompoc on March 25, 2020, and Terry was arrested that same day.

In addition to the murder charge, Terry also pleaded guilty to three counts of assault by means of force likely to produce great bodily injury and a special allegation that he personally used a firearm in the commission of the murder.

During Terry’s hearing — where he and family members appeared via Zoom due to pandemic protocols — the victim’s mother, Angelica Stoffle, described her daughter as “such a beautiful person; she was smart, kindhearted, funny, caring and was loved by so many people. She could make the grumpiest person smile and laugh with her light-heartedness. We will forever miss her.”

District Attorney Joyce Dudley stated, “This tragic crime has left so many victims in its wake, as is so often the case with domestic violence homicides and other cases of intimate partner abuse. Here, a life sentence for the murder Mr. Terry committed will never placate or heal her devastated family, but it is the appropriate disposition to this horrible crime.”