District attorney Dan Dow announced that a superior court judge has found sufficient evidence to hold a man to answer on charges of murder.
Evidence has been established that on November 13, 2025, 23-year-old Abel Santiago and his brother, Francisco Santiago, picked up the victim of the shooting, Margarito Ventura Ventura, in Santa Maria. The brothers drove the victim through Santa Maria in a route that avoided more than 150 license-plate reading cameras, then traveled northbound on highway 101 into San Luis Obispo county, where the victim’s cell phone activity ceased. The brothers then took the victim east onto highway 166, and at Suey creek, the victim was removed from the vehicle and shot several times, according to the DA’s office.
Following the murder, Abel Santiago destroyed evidence of the shooting, and tried to flee the country. He was stopped before he could leave, arrested, and interviewed.
