On Wednesday, July 8 it was announced that a judge has found sufficient evidence to hold 23-year-old Abel Santiago to answer to all charges in the November 2025 shooting of Santa Maria resident Margarito Ventura.
Santiago faces charges of murder, conspiracy to commit murder, destroying or concealing evidence, and being an accessory after the fact.
Following the preliminary hearing, the district attorney's office says evidence showed that on November 13, 2025, Abel Santiago and his brother, Francisco Santiago, picked up the victim, Ventura in Santa Maria.
Allegedly armed with a firearm, 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 stopped.
Officials say the brothers took the victim east on Highway 166, and at Suey Creek Road Ventura was taken out of the car and shot several times.
According to authorities there is evidence to show the Santiago brothers allegedly removed a second cell phone from Ventura and took off to Nipomo, where they got rid of it. A passerby found the victim in the roadway and attempted to render aid, but Ventura died from his wounds.
After the murder, authorities claim Abel Santiago destroyed evidence of the shooting, purchased a new cell phone, and tried to leave the county.
A search of his cell phone reportedly indicated he was in the process of creating a fake identity.
Law enforcement stopped Abel Santiago before he could leave, and he was arrested.
Abel Santiago allegedly admitted to bringing the firearm and brandishing it at the victim inside the car but claimed his brother, Francisco Santiago, fired the deadly shots.
A preliminary hearing is a court proceeding in which a judge determines whether there is sufficient evidence, known as probable cause, to require a defendant to stand trial.
The victim's co-defendant, Francisco Santiago, is still on the loose.
Anyone with information regarding his whereabouts is urged to contact Crime Stoppers at 805-549-STOP (7867) or online at the San Luis Obispo County Crime Stoppers Website. Tipsters may remain anonymous and could be eligible for a cash reward.
Abel Santiago remains in custody he is scheduled to return to court on August 3, in San Luis Obispo County Superior Court for his arraignment.
