Daily Briefs


Hate crime suspect injures four Santa Barbara police officers

By KAREN VELIE Four Santa Barbara police officers suffered minor to moderate injuries while arresting a 21-year-old suspect for allegedly assaulting a 64 year-old man while making homophobic slurs. Responding to a call, officers arrived at the 500 block of... (Continue reading)

SLO County’s COVID-19 case rates reach record high

By KAREN VELIE San Luis Obispo County health officials reported an all-time high of 517 in the average daily number of COVID-19 cases on Friday, outpacing the previous record set on Tuesday with a 14 day average of 383. During... (Continue reading)

Paso Robles police identify man killed on Highway 46

By KAREN VELIE The Paso Robles Police Department identified the man who was struck and killed while walking on Highway 46 Wednesday evening as 35-year-old Sean Casey Colwell of Atascadero. Shortly before 7 p.m., 911 callers reported a man was... (Continue reading)

Paso Robles man found guilty of murdering popular hairdresser

By KAREN VELIE A San Luis Obispo County judge on Thursday convicted a North County man in the murder of a popular Paso Robles hairdresser. Carlo Alberto Fuentes Flores, 44, waived his right to a jury trial. Superior Court Judge... (Continue reading)

Arroyo Grande teen dead, suspected overdose

By KAREN VELIE Arroyo Grande police officers are investigating a suspected fatal overdose of a 13-year-old Thursday morning. The teen was found unresponsive shortly after 7 a.m. Thursday morning inside a residence. Arroyo Grande police and fire personnel responded to... (Continue reading)

Man struck and killed on Highway 46 in Paso Robles

By JOSH FRIEDMAN A vehicle or vehicles struck and killed a man who was walking on Highway 46 in Paso Robles Wednesday evening. Shortly before 7 p.m., several people called 911 to report a pedestrian walking in traffic on Highway... (Continue reading)

Gunman shoots man in the torso in Santa Maria

By JOSH FRIEDMAN A gunman shot and wounded a man in Santa Maria Wednesday night, marking the fourth shooting in the north side of the city within a span of 10 days. At about 11:30 p.m., a caller reported a... (Continue reading)

Paso Robles man sentenced to life in prison for killing wife, unborn child

By JOSH FRIEDMAN A judge sentenced a rural Paso Robles man to life in prison without the possibility of parole for killing his girlfriend and the couple’s unborn baby. On March 3, 2019, Daniel Raul Rodriguez Johnson crashed his car... (Continue reading)

Arroyo Grande rapist to spend 50 years to life in prison

By JOSH FRIEDMAN A judge sentenced an Arroyo Grande man who sexually assaulted three San Luis Obispo women at knifepoint to 50 years to life in prison. On July 8, 2018, Arthur Tiofilo Rocha broke into a San Luis Obispo... (Continue reading)

Fraudsters rip off California’s disability insurance system

By JOSH FRIEDMAN After acknowledging mass unemployment fraud amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the state of California is now faced with tens or hundreds of thousands of fraudulent disability insurance claims. On Friday, the California Employment Development Department (EDD) announced it... (Continue reading)