Edhat Staff
By edhat staff
Law enforcement engaged in a seven-hour standoff on Friday with a homicide suspect in Santa Maria which eventually brought him into custody to face charges.
Santa Maria Police Department’s and the Santa Barbara County Sheriff Department’s SWAT Teams assisted the Lompoc Police Department with serving an arrest warrant for Walter Morales, 26-years-old of Lompoc.
The incident took place in the 1500 block of South Thornburg Street in Santa Maria. After approximately a 7-hour standoff, Morales was arrested after being forced out of a residence and later booked into Santa Barbara County Jail for murder.
Morales was wanted for the September 2019 murder of US Army Soldier Marlon Brumfield, 22-years-old of Lompoc, and for two other recent shootings in Lompoc.
On Monday, Santa Barbara County District Attorney Joyce E. Dudley announced that Morales is charged with Murder, a Special Allegation of Street Terrorism, Personal Use of a Firearm, and a Gang Case enhancement.
Co-defendant Francisco Gutierrez-Ortega, 25, of Santa Maria, California, was previously charged in a felony complaint with the murder of Brumfield.
Morales will appear in Santa Maria Superior Court for arraignment on the above charges on July 21.
