Santa Barbara Police Arrest Gang Suspects

Five suspected gang members from Ventura County were arrested in Santa Barbara early Sunday morning after one of them allegedly shot two youths during a street fight.

The shooting occurred near Bath Street and Haley Street in Santa Barbara as three adults and two juveniles were returning to a party after picking up beer, said Lt. Nick Katzenstein, a spokesman for the Santa Barbara Police Department.

“Basically, they were returning after getting the beer and they ran into some Santa Barbara kids and the two groups exchanged gang slogans,” Lt. Katzenstein said.

As the two sides started to square off for a fight, one of the Ventura County gang members pulled a .357 magnum and began firing, police say. Louis Salgado, 18, of Santa Barbara was hit in the foot and a 17-year-old boy was hit in the arm and buttocks, Katzenstein said. Both were treated at Santa Barbara’s Cottage Hospital for their wounds.

Following the shooting, the Ventura County group jumped in a car and fled the scene, he said. They were stopped on California 101 near Carpinteria by California Highway Patrol officers and deputies from the Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Department. A .357 magnum was found in a secret compartment under the dashboard of the car they were riding in, Lt. Katzenstein said.

Arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon were Santa Paula brothers Pascual Escoto, 21, and John Escoto, 19. Also arrested were 18-year-old Adrian Estrella of Santa Paula and two juveniles. All are being held in the Santa Barbara Jail, Katzenstein said.