Santa Maria man arrested in deadly shooting charged with murder, attempted murder
Five felony charges were filed Wednesday in Santa Barbara County Superior Court against a Santa Maria man accused of committing a fatal shooting last week, plus attempting to kill another person twice in May.
Erik Fernandez Rocha, 20, was arrested while riding a bicycle on Saturday night, the day after he allegedly shot and killed a man near a business on the 100 block of East Grant Street.
In court documents, his name is listed as Erik Rochahernandez, while jail logs identify him as Erik Rocha Fernandez.
The homicide victim, Frankie Placido Hernandez, 20, was pronounced dead in a vehicle near the entrance and exit for Highway 101 at North Broadway on May 28.
In connection with the murder charge for the killing of Hernandez, the defendant also faces a special circumstance accusing him of lying in wait to commit the crime.
Additionally, he has been charged with two counts of attempted murder involving a different victim, Adam Richard Borunda, in incidents that allegedly occurred on May 21 and May 28.
The criminal complaint also includes a pair of felony charges related to methamphetamine, for possessing a controlled substance for sale, and selling/transporting a controlled substance.
A number of sentencing enhancements have been filed against Rocha, including for use of a firearm.
He will return to Santa Maria court June 9 for a further arraignment hearing.
The defendant remains in the custody of Santa Barbara County Jail, and was being held without bail.
This was the fourth homicide in Santa Maria since Jan. 1, and was followed by another killing two days later.
No arrests had been made as of Tuesday for the death of the 38-year-old man in that case, Santa Maria police Lt. Terry Flaa told Noozhawk.
That fatal shooting near West Boone and South Curryer streets occurred after a quarrel between the victim and other people, according to the preliminary investigation.
This story was originally published June 3, 2021 at 2:27 PM.