Woman gets year in jail for accessory to murder, faces deportation

August 4, 2017

Mayra Perez

The wife of the man accused of killing a 43-year-old Santa Maria resident outside a bar in Orcutt received a one-year jail sentence for accessory to murder.

Mayra Perez, 29, pleaded no contest in June to being an accessory to murder after the fact and aiding and abetting. In addition to 365 days in the Santa Barbara County Jail, she received five years of probation.

Perez is likely to be released from jail quickly since she has received credit for 304 days served. However, Perez is in the United States illegally and is currently under an immigration detainer, so she may be deported after getting out of jail.

Shortly before 2 a.m. on March 4, Perez’s husband, 35-year-old Jonathan David Highley, allegedly shot and killed Anthony Steven San Juan outside Elmer’s Bar in Old Town Orcutt. Highley fled the scene following the shooting but was taken into custody around 9 a.m. as he was leaving his home with his wife and four children.

Sheriff’s deputies arrested Perez along with Highley, and child protective services took custody of the couple’s children before turning them over to relatives.

Shortly following the killing, Highley called Perez, who was visiting family in Merced. Perez drove home, did laundry, acted as a lookout and moved the murder weapon, prosecutors said. Perez was also accused of lying to police during two separate interviews.

Highley’s murder case is still ongoing. He pleaded not guilty to murder and assault with a firearm and is due back in court on Aug. 23.


Loading...
8 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

Sweet mustache, though.


Give her a year so she can get a taste of confinement then deport her and make sure she understands that if she returns she will get 5 years.

Sanctuary cities are wrong and dangerous and we should all go around our state government and write the DOJ to ask for help. If enough of us stand up and write AG Sessions this will end.


If she has children she cannot be deported and is eligible for $1,300 CalWorks (the Orwellian term for AFDC) CASH/mo, + $380 CalFresh (the Orwellian term for Food Stamps) + Section 8 housing + full medical and dental care plus a large number of miscellaneous benefits that are not disclosed to the public, they are only disclosed to applicants. And you don’t have to spend any of the money on the children, they are fed at school and during the summer, because, as we know, food aid doesn’t get used to feed children. The first baby of the year in the county a few years ago was born to a 46 year old illegal immigrant who said that she had had the child to extend her benefits until social security age. The state likes to advertise that “CalWorks” (aka no work, AFDC pre-Orwell) benefits are for only 48 months maximum however single mothers are exempt and get benefits for however long they have a child <18 years old. The housing is a pad for gang operations by the undeclared baby-daddy, This is not speculation, this is straight from the mouths of Santa Maria High School sophomore girls for whom this is the plan, and a logical one at that. The fully allocated cost to the taxpayer for each no-baby-daddy gangster "family" is well over $250,000/yr.


Well hot damn! I have some time to knock out a few babies and get free $$ before my social security kicks in. Seems legit!!


The idea of sanctuary cities was to protect innocent “undocumented immigrants”. Even a flaming liberal should be able to differentiate between harboring people just wanting to come to work and those who are here committing serious crimes.


If people like her are allowed to stay, it just gives Republicans complete justification to repeal Sanctuary Cities and those who support them.


Sadly, Santa Barbara County has already signaled that they will not work with ICE in this immigration detainer, so Mrs. Mayra Perez will most likely not be deported.


Top government politicians in Santa Barbara County, including Supervisors Peter Adam and Steve Lavignino, have adopted sanctuary city policies, and direct staff not to cooperate with ICE. Under the failed leadership of these career politicians, county taxpayers have to live in fear of illegal immigrant violence, and also pay for the tremendous cost of these people in our country.


Do you agree with me that we ought to run these corrupt politicians out-of-office and also run them out-of-town?


I thought so.


Deport Stupidity


If you don’t get active TOGETHER and complain in person, with signs, publicly and often, then you are guilty of being an accomplice to their crime.

Get out there and work for your values, people!


Deport her NOW…don’t waste any more of the TAX PAYING CITIZENS money.