Winter conditions hit SB County

Snow lands on San Marcos Pass; rain likely everywhere today

By DAVE MASON NEWS-PRESS MANAGING EDITOR

Snow has fallen in Santa Barbara County, and it’s not just on the mountain tops.

In fact, Caltrans had to bring in snow plows Thursday afternoon to clear State Route 154 after a heavy amount of snow left drivers briefly standed near the 2,200-foot summit on San Marcos Pass.

The California Highway Patrol shut down State Route 154 in both directions, but later reopened it. Motorists are advised to watch for possible further closures.

Earlier, the tops of the Santa Ynez Mountains received a light dusting of snow. And light sleet was seen falling Thursday afternoon at Painted Cave Road and West Camino Cielo in Santa Barbara.

Flood watch alerts are in effect with rain expected today. Some precipitation fell Wednesday night

Please see WEATHER on A4

“I believe that God has settled the hearts of many nations to help Ukraine with military aid and aid for refugees,” said Pastor Mikhail Smiyun of First Ukrainian Evangelical Baptist Church of Santa Barbara. A prayer service will take place at 7 p.m. today at the church.

Editor’s note: This is the first part of a series of News-Press articles examining the oneyear anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Future stories will cover topics such as efforts by Santa Barbara-based ShelterBox USA and Goleta-based Direct Relief, which have gone to Ukraine to provide help.

By KATHERINE ZEHNDER

NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

Today marks the one-year anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

A 7 p.m. prayer service will be held tonight at the First Ukrainian Evangelical Baptist Church of Santa Barbara, 150 Pebble Hill Drive.

And at noon Saturday, a rally in honor of Ukraine will take place, rain or shine, at the Santa Barbara County Courthouse, 1100 Anacapa St. Santa Barbara. World Dance for Humanity will host the rally.

The remembrance of Ukraine comes as the nation and its people continue to suffer from the relentless attacks by Russia.

“It is a sad day for us,” Pastor Mikhail Smiyun told the NewsPress. “We have set up all-

UKRAiNE: ONE YEAR LATER

day prayer and fasting today in addition to tonight’s prayer service.

“We request our Lord and ask Him all year, but tonight

Please see UKRAINE on A4

FYi

The First Ukrainian Evangelical Baptist Church of Santa Barbara continues to raise money to help Ukraine. To make a donation, send a check, made out to the church and earmark it for Ukrainian refugees or wounded soldiers. Checks should be mailed to the church at 150 Pebble Hill Dr. Santa Barbara CA 93111.

Man pleads not guilty to making criminal threats against police

By NEIL HARTSTEIN NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

A Santa Maria man has pleaded not guilty to felony charges alleging he made criminal threats against Santa Maria police officers and their families, and stalked them at their homes.

Albert Varelas, 34, appeared in court Wednesday for arraignment where he entered not guilty pleas to charges of making criminal threats and stalking, Deputy District Attorney Catherine Martin said. His case was continued to March 2 to set a date for his preliminary hearing. A tentative date for the hearing was scheduled for the next day, March 3.

The complaint filed against Mr. Varelas alleges that between Jan. 24 and Feb. 17, he threatened to commit a crime “which would result in death and great bodily injury,” and that the alleged crime was made “with the specific intent that the statement be taken as a threat.”

According to the complaint, his alleged threat against police officers and their families “was so unequivocal, unconditional, immediate and specific as to convey to the victim a gravity of purpose and an immediate prospect of execution.

“It is further alleged that the said victim was reasonably in sustained fear of his/her safety and the safety of his/her immediate family.”

The complaint alleges that Mr. Varelas backed up his threats in that he “willfully, maliciously and repeatedly” followed and harassed Santa Maria police officers.

The complaint notes that Mr. Varelas already has a prior serious felony conviction on his record, considered his first strike under the three strikes law.

He was arrested over the weekend after the alleged threat came to light Friday night, when Santa Maria police received information regarding police officers and their families being threatened on social media posts, Sgt. Daniel Rios said in a police department news brief posted online Saturday.

Officers initiated an investigation, and Mr. Varelas was identified as a suspect, Sgt. Rios said. Mr. Varelas’ social media account was also located.

During the initial police investigation, several more social media posts allegedly were made by Mr. Varelas and observed by officers in real time involving further threats against Santa Maria police officers and family members, Sgt. Rios said.

Mr. Varelas’ alleged threats referenced previous police contact and current threats to “kill” officers and family members, Sgt. Rios said.

Further investigation confirmed that Mr. Varelas was allegedly targeting and stalking officers’ homes in the Santa Maria area, he said.

Officers obtained an arrest warrant for Mr. Varelas on suspicion of making criminal threats but were unable to locate him.

That changed about 7:30 a.m. Saturday when the Santa Maria Police Detective Bureau took over the investigation.

Detectives were able to track the suspect to a location in the Orcutt area near Foster Road and Hummel Drive.

At about 2:20 p.m. Saturday, Santa Maria police detectives, with assistance from the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office Patrol Division and the Santa Maria Police Patrol Division, were able to safely locate and arrest Mr. Varelas without incident, police said.

He was booked into the Santa Barbara County Jail on the criminal threats warrant, and he is being held there on $250,000 bail.

Anyone with information related to this investigation is encouraged to contact SMPD Detective Eduardo Servin at 805-928-3781, ext. 1362, or the SMPD Communications Center at 805-928 -3781, ext. 2277. email: nhartsteinnewspress@gmail.com

SANTA BARBARA COUNTY FIRE DEPARTMENT Caltrans brings in plows to clear State Route 154, where motorists were briefly stranded Thursday afternoon near the 2,200-foot summit on San Marcos Pass.

Convicted murderer faces 25 years to life in prison

By NEIL HARTSTEIN NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

A Lompoc man who pleaded guilty to killing the mother of their 6-year-old daughter on Easter Sunday five years ago will be sentenced to 25 years to life in state prison when he returns to court today, prosecutors said.

Former District Attorney Joyce E. Dudley announced last December that Jorge Tovar Fernandez, 32, had pleaded guilty to the willful, premeditated and deliberate murder of Elyse Marie Erwin.

According to prosecutors, Ms. Erwin was returning to a friend’s residence on Goodwin Road in Santa Maria on Easter morning, April 16, 2017, when Mr. Fernandez confronted her.

“As Ms. Erwin was exiting her car, the defendant shot Ms. Erwin in the back of the head,” prosecutors said. “Ms. Erwin died on the scene.”

Mr. Fernandez’s jury trial had been scheduled to begin on Feb. 6.

The District Attorney’s Office had decided it would not seek the death penalty but instead seek a sentence of life in prison without parole if Mr. Fernandez were convicted.

However, Mr. Fernandez changed his mind and opted to forgo his trial and plead guilty in exchange for a lighter sentence that allows the possibility of parole. He entered that plea on Dec. 15.

Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s detectives arrested Mr. Fernandez days after Ms. Erwin’s death. He and Ms. Erwin, parents of a 6-year-old girl at the time, were involved in an intense custody fight that required law enforcement officers to keep the peace, according to testimony at his 2019 preliminary hearing.

Mr. Fernandez gave different stories to law enforcement officers about where he was at the time of the shooting, including that he had driven up State Route 1. A detective, however, testified during the preliminary hearing that his story couldn’t be true because a massive landslide had closed a long stretch of the road.

Evidence showed a 9 mm handgun was used in the killing.

Mr. Fernandez owned a 9 mm Beretta, but claimed he no longer had it in his possession.

However, when law enforcement officers searched his home, they found a 9 mm ammunition magazine in a plastic bag hidden in a cinder block fence.

“This horrific murder was the worst kind of domestic violence,” former District Attorney Joyce Dudley said at the time. “It occurred years after the couple separated, but the defendant continued to engage in relentless stalking behavior.

If you, or someone you know, is experiencing any form of domestic violence, or is being stalked, please call 9-1-1. In doing so, you could become a life-saver.” email: nhartsteinnewspress@ gmail.com