Police arrest Santa Maria murder suspect

February 3, 2023

By KAREN VELIE

Santa Maria police arrested a 23-year-old man on Thursday for allegedly murdering a teen last year in a suspected gang related shooting.

Shortly after midnight on Aug. 14, a caller reported hearing shots fired in an alleyway near the 300 block of W. Newlove Drive. Officers arrived to find Felix Ivan Antonio sitting in his car with a gunshot wound.

Antonio was pronounced dead at the scene. Officers do not believe the victim had any gang affiliations.

Officers booked Samuel Reyes Espinoza in Santa Barbara County Northern Branch Jail on a murder charge, with his bail set at $4 million.