Our 166th Year
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T H U R S DAY, N OV E M B E R 2 5 , 2 0 21
Pierre Haobsh found guilty Judge says evidence proves guilt “beyond a shadow of a doubt”
By ANNELISE HANSHAW NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
KENNETH SONG/NEWS-PRESS PHOTOS
Judge Brian Hill reads a guilty verdict for triple-murder suspect Pierre Haobsh during a bench trial at the Santa Barbara County Courthouse.
Judge Brian Hill declared Pierre Haobsh, 31, of Oceanside guilty Wednesday afternoon for the murders of Chinese herbalist Dr. Weidong “Henry” Han, 57; wife, Huijie “Jennie” Yu, 29; and 5-yearold daughter, Emily Han. The Santa Barbara County Superior Court judge ruled Mr. Haobsh guilty on all three counts of murder in the first degree, including special circumstances of murder for financial gain, multiple counts of murder and personal discharge of firearm causing great
bodily harm. The case marked the first time Santa Barbara County District Attorney Joyce E. Dudley’s office pursued the death penalty, but the punishment was removed in a deal reached by the prosecution and defense. The agreement specified that Mr. Haobsh must waive his right to a trial by jury and instead submit to a bench trial where the judge is the sole deliberator. Judge Hill announced his verdict immediately after closing arguments, explaining to the Santa Barbara court that his decision was not made in haste. Please see TRIAL on A2
Public defender Christine Voss, left, speaks to Pierre Haobsh after the judge declared him guilty on all counts.
Countdown to Black Friday Santa Barbara County retailers prepare for big day
DART takes off from Vandenberg Craft set to crash with asteroid moonlet
By FORREST MCFARLAND NEWS-PRESS CORRESPONDENT
Local businesses are encouraging consumers to “shop small” on Black Friday. Despite the huge deals at big box stores, small retailers are preparing for foot traffic and strategically inserting themselves into the shopping frenzy for the coming weekend. “With local businesses you can’t compete (with big box stores), it’s not possible,” Darcy McElroy, manager of The Shopkeepers in Santa Barbara, told the NewsPress. “So we focus on great customer service and provide personal attention which is unique to us.” The Shopkeepers, which is at 137 Anacapa St., is collaborating with Coastal Coffee Collective to offer free coffee to anyone who visits its pop-up shop on Friday. Ms. McElroy said her store offers services such as gift wrapping and unique pieces that shoppers might not find at a larger retailer. “You’re gonna find a unique gift,” Ms. McElroy said. “You’re able to find something really special when you shop locally.” Elsewhere in Santa Barbara, Jennifer Steinwurtzel, owner of Jake & Jones boutique, noted her store’s access to novel items is a way to distinguish itself from larger retailers. “Bix boxes have endless inventory,” said Ms. Steinwurtzel, whose store is at 136 E. Canon Perdido St. “We will always corner that market by representing the smaller designers and selling unique and limited products.” Though Ms. Steinwurtzel and others say they are unable to offer the steep discounts that retailers with huge inventories peddle, the local businesses still have great deals to compete with big box sales during Black Friday weekend. “We are offering deals up to Please see SHOPPING on A5
U.S. SPACE FORCE PHOTO BY MICHAEL PETERSON
The DART mission launches from Vandenberg Space Force Base.
By DAVE MASON NEWS-PRESS MANAGING EDITOR
COURTESY PHOTO
“We are offering deals up to 70% on past and current fashion,” said Torrie Smith, owner of Loom Boutique in Santa Ynez. Retailers such as Ms. Smith are finding ways to attract customers despite the competition of big box stores on Black Friday.
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Move over, Bruce Willis. He saved the world from an asteroid, but that was only in the 1998 movie “Armageddon.” NASA is taking a real-universe step toward protecting the Earth from future asteroids during its first planetary defense test mission. And that mission began with the launch of the Double Asteroid Redirection Test, sitting on top of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, at 10:21 p.m. Tuesday from Complex-4 at Vandenberg Space Force Base. The spacecraft is known as DART for short, and that’s exactly what it’s designed to do, to dart toward an asteroid moonlet, Dimporhos, while going incredibly fast — 15,000 mph to be precise. Once it arrives, DART, which weighs more than 1,200 pounds and is about the
size of a vending machine, will intentionally crash into the asteroid moonlet, which is about the size of the Great Pyramid of Giza. Tuesday’s launch got the attention of Santa Barbara County residents, who saw and heard it from their homes, at least as far south as Carpinteria. In fall 2022, DART is expected to hit Dimorphos, which orbits a larger asteroid called Didymos. That will cause Dimorphos to change its orbit within the Didymos binary asteroid system, Vandenberg explained in a news release. According to the space force base, the Didymos system is ideal for DART because it has actually no impact threat to Earth. And scientists can measure the change in the asteroid moonlet’s orbit with ground-based telescopes. “DART’s single instrument, Please see DART on A2
INSIDE
L O T T E RY RESULTS
Classified................. A4 Life...................... B1/4 Obituaries............... A6
Wednesday’s SUPER LOTTO: N/A Meganumber: N/A
Wednesday’s DAILY 4: 3-4-2-7
Tuesday’s MEGA MILLIONS: 7-24-54-57-58 Meganumber: 6
Wednesday’s FANTASY 5: 1-4-8-12-33
Wednesday’s DAILY DERBY: 10-12-01 Time: 1:45.86
Wednesday’s POWERBALL: N/A Meganumber: N/A
Sudoku................... B5 Sports . .................... A4 Weather................. A6
Wednesday’s DAILY 3: 0-4-9 / Wednesday’s Midday 7-7-7