Three adults charged in juvenile court in connection with October 2023 Santa Maria murder Monday
SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif. – On Monday, three people were charged with felony murder in connection with the Oct. 21, 2023, shooting death of Arthur Pichardo.
{Editor's note} The original version of this article stated that Pichardo's death was a stabbing. Arthur Pichardo died from gunshot wounds after a shooting on Oct. 21, 2023.
According to the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office, petitions were filed against the three defendants, only identified in court documents by their initials as they were all juveniles when the alleged crimes were perpetrated, in Santa Maria Juvenile Court.
The Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office explained that their office has filed for all the defendants -identified as R.S., M.V., and F.C.- to have their cases transferred to adult court.
Each of the three defendants were charged with one felony count of murder in the first degree and were also charged with a special circumstance of committing a murder on behalf of a criminal street gang as well as a special allegation for the use of a firearm shared the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office in a press release Monday.
All three adults will be arraigned in Santa Maria Juvenile Court on June 3, 2025, added the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office.
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