Stray bullet from gang-related shootout kills California man out with wife

A 26-year-old Southern California man faces life in prison without the possibility of parole after being convicted of murdering an innocent bystander who was celebrating his 20th wedding anniversary with his wife on Santa Barbara’s Stearns Wharf.

The killing occurred around 8:40 p.m. on Dec. 9, 2022, after Jiram Tenorio Ramon and several others drove past a group they believed to be rival gang members, according to evidence presented at trial.

One of Tenorio Ramon’s accomplices flashed a Westside gang hand sign at the group before Tenorio Ramon directed the driver to stop near the dolphin fountain at the end of the wharf, prosecutors said.

Armed with a loaded 9mm semiautomatic handgun, Tenorio Ramon got out of the vehicle and ran toward the group with another occupant of the car.

Tenorio Ramon fired one round during the ensuing gunfight, striking Robert Gutierrez in the back and killing him, prosecutors said.

Gutierrez was not involved in the confrontation. He had been walking to a restaurant with his wife to celebrate their anniversary.

About two and a half weeks later, Tenorio Ramon posted a self-produced rap video on Instagram in which he recounted details of the killing and bragged that it had enhanced his reputation, according to the Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office.

Santa Barbara police identified people involved on both sides of the gunfight and arrested those suspected of committing crimes in connection with Gutierrez’s death.

Eight people were ultimately charged, and all have now been convicted of felony offenses. The three people who fired guns during the confrontation were convicted of homicide-related crimes, prosecutors said.

In closing arguments, defense attorneys argued that Gutierrez’s death was not the result of gang-related violence but rather a tragic accident that occurred in self-defense, Noozhawk reported.

On July 22, a Santa Barbara County jury found Tenorio Ramon guilty of first-degree murder.

Jurors also found that he personally and intentionally fired the shot that killed Gutierrez. They further determined that Tenorio Ramon was an active participant in the Westside criminal street gang and committed the murder to further the gang’s activities.

“This case serves as a heartbreaking reminder of the devastating consequences of gang violence,” District Attorney John Savrnoch said. “Robert Gutierrez was enjoying an evening with his wife on Stearns Wharf as they celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary. In an instant, his life was taken, his wife lost her husband, his children lost their father, and the community lost a kind, hardworking man who was deeply loved.”

Tenorio Ramon is scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 29 in Santa Barbara County Superior Court. He faces life in prison without the possibility of parole.

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