Omar Montiel-Hernandez, an 18-year-old from Santa Barbara, was killed in a shooting on January 3, 2021, on Liberty Street near Canada Street in the city’s Eastside. The attack also killed 17-year-old Angel Castillo and wounded two other teenagers. Authorities described the shooting as gang-related and said the victims were targeted as members of a rival group.

In April 2021 law enforcement carried out coordinated raids in Carpinteria and Summerland and arrested three suspects: Angel Eduardo Varela, Oscar Martin Trujillo-Gutierrez, and Emilio Perez. They were booked on multiple counts including murder, multiple murders, murder to further a criminal street gang, using a firearm in association with a criminal street gang, and attempted murder with premeditation and deliberation; all were held without bail.

A Santa Barbara Superior Court Judge later found there was sufficient evidence for the case to proceed to trial under special-circumstances gang allegations. Montiel-Hernandez is remembered by family as devoted to his family with a positive outlook. Did anyone in the Eastside neighborhood see or hear anything that night that could help investigators or the families?