A man driving a stolen vehicle twice rammed a Santa Maria police car, then led officers on a chase prior to being arrested in a residential area. Around 11:56 a.m. on Sunday, an officer stopped a vehicle he had spotted... (Continue reading)
An unidentified man was caught last week on surveillance video grabbing a puppy from the Santa Maria animal shelter and tossing the dog over a fence. The suspect then hopped the fence, chased after the puppy and fled. Around 4:30... (Continue reading)
A woman burned to death in Santa Maria on Sunday near a Santa Barbara County mental health clinic. At about 12:48 p.m., Santa Maria police received a call about a person on fire in the 500 block of W. Foster... (Continue reading)
The Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office has concluded that last summer’s fatal shooting of a mentally ill Santa Maria man was a justifiable homicide. A report released by the district attorney’s office states three Santa Maria officers had reasonable... (Continue reading)
During an early morning Santa Maria robbery, one brother pepper sprayed a male victim, and the other sibling hit him in the head with a handgun, according to the city’s police department. Moments later, the brothers allegedly robbed a female... (Continue reading)
A Santa Maria man tried to sell an iPhone stolen in San Luis Obispo back to its rightful owner. Rather than completing the transaction, the man found himself in handcuffs after mistaking an undercover police officer for the owner of... (Continue reading)
The family of a man who was shot and killed last year by Santa Maria police officers has filed a federal lawsuit against the city, as well as its police department and five officers. Javier Gaona, 31, was armed with... (Continue reading)
After being stopped in a stolen vehicle, a Santa Maria man allegedly assaulted a Cal Poly police officer, then tried to run away. At about 12:47 a.m. Friday, an officer conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle on the Cal... (Continue reading)
The Santa Maria-Bonita School District board adopted a resolution Wednesday aimed at shielding students from the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency. Santa Maria-Bonita is the latest of several local school districts, including San Luis Coastal, to do adopt... (Continue reading)
A former Santa Maria youth basketball coach, who was accused of molesting a teenage girl over multiple years, received a five-year probation sentence and was set free from jail on Monday. The alleged victim in the case had recanted her... (Continue reading)