Closing Arguments Wrap in Stearns Wharf Shooting Trial

Closing arguments wrapped Wednesday in the murder trial of Jiram Tenorio Ramon, the Santa Barbara man accused of firing the shot that killed innocent bystander and Camarillo father Robert Gutierrez during an allegedly gang-related shooting on Stearns Wharf in December 2022. Prosecutors say Ramon — charged with first-degree murder and multiple gang and firearm enhancements — knowingly entered a gunfight and pulled the trigger. The defense says he was under threat and fired in self-defense.

‘All Roads Lead to Murder’

Prosecutor Tate McCallister opened his closing argument with a reminder: “The defendant took a life.” He urged jurors to see Gutierrez not as a name in a file but as a full person — “pain, joy, love, sacrifice, raising children, contributing to the community.” He told them: “Just to breathe is to know the value of life.”

McCallister laid out a five-part argument: crime scene evidence, forensic analysis, digital records, eyewitness accounts, and the law.

“This was not a fistfight,” McCallister said. “The defendant did not take his phone. He took his gun.” He argued that Ramon “chose the weapon, time, and place” — describing the defendant’s movements as tactical, not reactive. “Only one who got out of the car with a gun. He dictated the terms of this gunfight.”

Relying on synced audio and video from the wharf, McCallister pointed to Ramon’s proximity to Gutierrez and the direction of the fatal shot. “Shot Number Five,” he said, was the one that mattered — and “no chance” it came from the Ventura teens involved in the confrontation.

He also addressed the recovered firearm — a ghost gun found at the home of Jonathan “Jondo” Santa Maria. Forensics couldn’t confirm it definitively, but McCallister emphasized: “All other bullet casings accounted for.”

Then came digital evidence: an “anybody killa” tattoo, texts about acquiring the gun — “it will come in handy sooner or later” — and lyrics that McCallister said weren’t art but “an advertisement of greatness of a Westside gangster.”

Finally, there were the witnesses, Ramon’s former co-defendants with him on the night of the shooting. He recapped key testimony from James Rosborough, who testified under cross-examination that Ramon yelled, “Let’s get ’em,” moments before shots rang out; Christopher Miranda, the driver on the night of the shooting to whom Ramon reportedly said, “You’re my crimey”; and Ricardo Jauregui-Moreno — who, despite minimizing his gang role on the stand, is a self-admitted member of the Westside “Destroyer” clique, nicknamed “Nightmare.”

McCallister said Ramon chose the gang life as an adult and “tried to be Westside heavily prior to the crime,” invoking gang-related images, tattoos, and Instagram posts: “1-3,” “ABK,” and the Botero tattoo among them.

As for the law, McCallister told the jury: “Causation — all roads lead to murder.” Whether Ramon started the gunfight or fired the fatal shot, both “causal acts” showed express malice, premeditation, and deliberation. “That’s first-degree murder.”

He walked the jury through definitions of express versus implied malice, transferred intent, and the criteria for enhancements. “He created the circumstances. He chose to get out of the car and enter a gun fight.” He concluded: “What he has earned is your conviction of first-degree murder.”

‘An Unfortunate Encounter’

Defense attorney George Steele began by acknowledging the loss of life but told jurors he wasn’t asking for sympathy — only fairness. “Ventura fired the first shot,” he said. When speaking about the prosecution, he said, “They have to prove it [first-degree murder] beyond a reasonable doubt.”

Steele argued there was no plan, no premeditation, and no coordinated gang activity that night. “Plan for the day? Smoke and drink — as young men do.” He said the group was leaving the pier when the confrontation happened. “Now we have shot number one. When someone fires a gun at you unprovoked, that’s self-defense.”

He argued that Ramon returned fire in fear. “Four rounds fired. I think it’s fair to return one.” He pointed to testimony that placed the shot at more than 200 feet away, describing the idea that Ramon made that shot as “unlikely.”

Steele pushed back against the gang allegations, noting Jauregui-Moreno “ran away, climbed a tree.” He told the jury: “None of this is gang activity.” On the forensic evidence: “We do not know for sure if that came from Ramon’s gun.”

He urged jurors to look at the seconds Ramon had to react: “Dare say anybody in that position would likely do the same thing.” He finished with a direct appeal: “Ramon was in fear for his life. Not guilty. Give Ramon his life back.”

‘Every Choice He Made Created This Situation’

McCallister returned briefly for the prosecution’s rebuttal. He said the defense was asking jurors to “look narrowly at the evidence,” but urged them to consider the full picture: the gun, the videos, the behavior before and after.

He questioned the idea that Ramon was reacting to danger. “Why did he jump out of the car — prior to it being fully stopped — and start advancing with a gun?” He noted that Ramon didn’t flee like Jauregui-Moreno. “Only one who did not flee or retreat.”

“Every choice he made created this situation,” McCallister said. “Follow the facts, the law — there’s no way that he escapes a first-degree murder conviction.”

The Jury

With closing arguments concluded, the case is now in the hands of the jury. They return to court to resume deliberations next week, and a verdict may come as early as Monday.