Man suspected of covering up SLO County killing will now face trial for murder
A man who was originally accused of helping his brother cover up a murder and then flee San Luis Obispo County will now face trial for participating in the murder itself, a judge ruled on Wednesday.
Abel Angel Santiago, 23, is the suspected accomplice to the murder of 26-year-old Margarito Ventura, whose body was found with multiple bullet holes on Highway 166 near Suey Creek Road, about four miles from Highway 101, on Nov. 13.
Santiago was arrested on Nov. 29, and previously pleaded not guilty to charges of accessory and conspiracy.
Francisco Angel Santiago, Abel’s brother, is suspected to be the killer, but is believed to have fled SLO County to Mexico, Deputy District Attorney Hunter Starr said during a preliminary hearing on Wednesday.
Abel Angel Santiago had also planned to flee, Starr said.
The preliminary hearing was the first time evidence in the case was presented to the public and where the judge decided if enough evidence existed to carry the case to trial.
Multiple members of Ventura’s family sat in the gallery watching. They declined to comment for this story.
The only witness to take the stand was California Highway Patrol Det. Brock Veillette, who described the night of the murder, when Ventura allegedly got into Abel Angel Santiago’s car with him and his brother at the La Vista apartment complex in Santa Maria, was driven across the border into San Luis Obispo County to Highway 166 and then was shot by Francisco.
Veillette testified that the brothers took a round-about route through Santa Maria, allegedly to avoid the city’s 173 Flock security cameras that automatically identify and photograph license plates, potentially using an online map source to circumvent the cameras, he said.
After being picked up by one camera in Nipomo, the brothers appeared to have disposed of one of Ventura’s two phones in the fields off Highway 1 near Division Street, north of Guadalupe, Villette testified.
In a Spanish language interview with Veillette, he said Santiago “admitted to being present during the murder” and that he provided the gun his brother used to shoot Ventura.
A video from the night of the murder presented as evidence in court showed a handgun in the center console of Santiago's car, and Santiago admitted to “brandishing” the gun at Ventura, Veillette said.
Veillette said Santiago then admitted that after the murder, he cleaned the inside of his car, threw away Ventura’s other phone and changed the registration of his car to be under Francisco’s wife’s name.
Video surveillance showed Santiago bringing his car into Amigos General Repair auto shop the next day to fix bullet holes in the windshield, Veillette testified. He was also caught on surveillance footage buying a new phone, which he used to try to obtain fake identification documents with a new name from someone over text and made internet searches on how to “age” a photograph, Veillete said a later search of the phone showed.
No clear relationship between Ventura and the Santiago brothers was presented, except that Ventura’s wife, Avelina Morales, hailed from the same Mixteco community in the Mexican state of Guerrero as Abel and Francisco Angel Santiago.
When interviewed by Veillette, Morales said her husband “owed multiple individuals large sums of money,” including one debt of $2,000, he said.
Murder, evidence destruction charges added in case
Though Abel Angel Santiago was originally charged with only accessory to murder after the fact and conspiracy to commit a crime, after the evidence was presented, Starr argued to the court that the suspect should also be charged with murder and misdemeanor destruction or concealment of evidence — Ventura’s phones.
He told The Tribune the DA’s Office plans to amend the complaint to add the new charges.
“I would posit that the only reasonable inference from this evidence, when taken as a whole, is that Mr. Abel Santiago and his brother conspired together to kidnap Mr. Ventura, drive him out to a secluded location, murder him and dispose of the evidence,” Starr said during his closing statement on Wednesday.
Santiago’s defense lawyer, Timothy Robert Osman, said there was not enough evidence to support the prosecution’s theory.
“Mr. Starr has already admitted that there’s no direct evidence that there was any agreement to commit this murder,” Osman said during closing statements. “There’s certainly evidence that a murder was committed, and that Mr. Santiago’s brother was responsible for that murder, and he remains in the wind, has not been caught by law enforcement.”
When Osman questioned Veillette on cross-examination, the lawyer brought up that Santiago “didn’t know his brother was going to shoot at Ventura” and that Ventura was “getting a bit belligerent” with the brothers when he first got in the car at their apartment complex.
He also questioned Veillette about alleged threats Ventura received from his wife’s brother over alleged infidelity and a domestic violence incident which resulted in his arrest. Morales filed for an emergency protective order against Ventura on April 11, 2024, according to Santa Barbara County court records.
SLO County Superior Court Judge Crystal Seiler ultimately ruled that Abel Angel Santiago will be tried on all charges — including the new counts of murder and evidence disposal — to be filed by the DA’s Office within 15 days.
She made a specific ruling that the murder charge was supported by both co-conspirator and aiding and abetting liability.
“This defendant participated in the calculated and cold-blooded killing of a man who was lured, driven to a remote location, and executed,” District Attorney Dan Dow said in a news release Wednesday. “Today’s ruling affirms there is sufficient evidence for these serious charges to be heard in court.”
Abel Angel Santiago is scheduled to appear back in court on Aug. 3.
Francisco Angel Santiago remains at large, and anyone with information regarding his whereabouts is urged to contact Crime Stoppers at 805-549-7867 or online at sanluisobispocounty.crimestoppersweb.com, the release said. Tipsters may remain anonymous and could be eligible for a cash reward.
