AnonymousSource: Santa Maria Police Department
On 12-28-2019, the Santa Maria Police Department was notified of a residential burglary where a safe with a large amount of money was stolen from an elderly victim’s home. The SMPD Detective Bureau initiated an investigation and learned of two suspects involved in the burglary, Julio Cesar Bautista (21 yrs. of Santa Maria) and Jazmin Martinez (21 yrs. of Santa Maria). On February 14, 2020, detectives served search warrants at two residences in Santa Maria; one in the 400 Blk. of E. Central and the other in the 1600 Blk. of N. Surrey Dr. Bautista was arrested at his residence in the 400 Blk. of E. Central and booked into Santa Barbara County Jail for residential burglary, grand theft, conspiracy and financial elder abuse. His bail was set at one million dollars.
The investigation continued and detectives discovered Martinez had fled to the Mesa, AZ area. An arrest warrant was issued for Martinez and SMPD detectives worked with the Mesa, AZ of fice of the FBI, the US Marshall’s Office, and Mesa, AZ Police Department to take Martinez into custody on February 27, 2020. A search warrant was also served at a residence where Martinez had been staying in Mesa, AZ. Martinez will be extradited to Santa Barbara County to face the same charges as Bautista. During the investigative search warrants, numerous items believed to have been purchased with the stolen money were recovered; the investigation is ongoing.
Anyone with information about the residential burglary and/or stolen money is encouraged to contact the Santa Maria Police Department, Detective Jesse Garcia, at (805) 928-3781, ext. 1115.
