‘Significant Change of Circumstances’: Defendants Re-Arraigned After Murder Charges Dropped in State Street Stabbing

Murder charges were quickly dropped in the State Street stabbing case from Fiesta weekend. Only a month passed between the original charges’ filing and their dismissal, as new video evidence arose in the time between, according to the Santa Barbara District Attorney’s Office.

It was a surprising development in what has proved to be a complex case. It started on State Street’s 500 block in the early hours of August 1 with a fight that left multiple victims with stab wounds and killed 30-year-old Anthony Bisquera Hartley. While rumors circulate about what prompted the fight, concrete details have not been made public. 

The three men arrested and charged in connection with the incident had their charges amended last week and underwent a new arraignment this Monday in Judge Stephen Foley’s courtroom. In terms of the remaining charges, all three entered pleas of not guilty and denied all allegations. Family and friends of Bisquera Hartley and the defendants attended the hearing, which was overall quiet and slow, like any other day in court.  

Originally, the DA filed charges based on the initial finding that Bisquera Hartley, who lost his life in the incident, was unarmed and fatally stabbed by Sergio Rivas, 30, and Juan Fernando Rios, 28.  

However, the new video allegedly shows that Bisquera Hartley was armed and assaulted Rivas and Rios, who the DA now claims acted in self-defense. As a result, murder charges against Rivas and Rios were dropped, and, despite any past ties, all gang-related allegations were dismissed.   

Family of Bisquera Hartley contest the DA’s conclusion, viewing it as a mis-portrayal of Bisquera Hartley’s character and actions. But court records allege that Bisquera Hartley and another defendant, Luis Terrazas, 30, assaulted Rivas. 

Court records allege Rivas was acting in self-defense when he fatally stabbed Bisquera Hartley in the chest, piercing his heart. They also allege that Rios acted in defense of Rivas, his friend, when he stabbed Bisquera Hartley non-fatally.

Rivas, Terrazas, and Rios underwent their arraignments separately, as their cases have been severed. It spanned almost the entire day in court, with several cases adding padding between the three hearings. 

Rivas, who faces the most charges of the three, was first. A public defender shook Rivas’s hand and congratulated him when she entered the room. He is no longer facing murder charges; however, he is still charged with assault with a deadly weapon against a separate victim, J. Ramos, with the special allegation of causing great bodily injury, as well as multiple firearm-related charges.

Tate McCallister, the DA’s prosecuting attorney, asked that Rivas receive no bail based on his “threat to the community,” citing past criminal convictions and the “unprovoked” stab into victim J. Ramos that left him in a life-threatening condition. Rivas’s lawyer, Neil Levinson, contested this, claiming that the injury was not proved to be life-threatening and that any previous conviction was at least eight-and-a-half years old and not fair to hold against Rivas now. 

Judge Foley decided Rivas was bailable, but a “significant” bail amount was still warranted based on his alleged participation in the armed confrontation, considering that it was “on a crowded street during Fiesta.” His bail was lowered from $2.05 million to $700,000, with conditions upon his release. 

Terrazas, who was joined by a small support system, seemed nervous but polite and reserved. He was dressed in regular clothing, unlike defendants Rios and Rivas, who were transported from the jail to court. Terrazas posted a bond and is out on release under certain conditions, including GPS monitoring. He was initially charged with the attempted murder of Rivas, but now, based on “new information” learned by the DA’s office, he is only facing assault charges. 

Rios seemed likewise reserved, but kept his head up during the proceedings. Rios had all allegations as to his illegal involvement in Bisquera Hartley’s death completely dismissed. He now only faces charges from a previous arrest in July, in which he is charged with driving under the influence and possessing a loaded firearm.

When it came to setting Rios’s bail, McCallister argued that Rios had “priors” and was “armed with a knife at Fiesta,” making him potentially dangerous to the public. However, Rios’s stand-in attorney, public defender Lauren Gartrell, rebutted that basing his bail on charges that have since been dropped was not proper, and it should instead be based on the bail schedule amounts for the firearm charges he still faces. 

Judge Foley acknowledged Rios’s “significant change of circumstances” but said he would be “remiss to ignore” the former allegation of an armed confrontation on State Street in order to “adequately protect the public.” He set Rios’s bail at $50,000 with conditions, including no weapons and being subject to random search and seizure.

A preliminary hearing setting for each defendant is set for September 22.