Month: May 2025

Andrew Gillies

MONTECITO, Calif. – The Nevada man accused of violently assaulting a woman on May 21 and barricading himself inside Ty Warner’s Montecito estate during a standoff with law enforcement has been charged with first-degree attempted murder.

Santa Barbara County District Attorney John T. Savrnoch announced the charges Friday against Russell Maxwell Phay, 42, of Henderson, Nevada. Additional charges include residential burglary with a person present, kidnapping, and resisting a peace officer.

On Wednesday, Santa Barbara County sheriff’s deputies responded to Warner’s estate on Fairway Road around 4:31 p.m. after receiving a report of an “unknown type problem.” When deputies arrived, they found a severely injured woman outside the residence and learned the suspect was still inside. Authorities said it was initially unclear whether anyone else was inside or being held hostage.

Phay allegedly attempted to evade arrest by jumping from a second-story bathroom window at the Beanie Babies creator’s estate. He was apprehended on the ground by deputies and a sheriff’s K-9.

The woman’s injuries were so severe that Savrnoch also filed a special allegation against Phay for personally inflicting great bodily injury resulting in a coma.

Investigators say there is no indication that Phay and the victim knew each other. Sources tell your News Channel that Warner was outside the estate during the incident. It remains unclear whether Phay has any connection to Warner.

Phay’s criminal history includes a 2017 arrest in Siskiyou County on assault and battery charges. The San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office also confirmed that Phay was named in a complaint last year for allegedly making threats over the phone to a couple in Arroyo Grande.

According to a 2014 SFGATE report, Phay is a former Army infantry combat trainee who struggled with mental health challenges after his service. He previously served time in prison for threatening his estranged wife after she moved to Colorado with their child.

Phay is currently being held on $1 million bail. He is scheduled to appear in Department 12 of the Santa Barbara County Superior Court on June 2 for a preliminary hearing setting, with a preliminary hearing scheduled for June 3.

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Ryder Christ

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – Millions of dollars have been lost to fake applications submitted to community colleges across California, but that is not the case at Santa Barbara City College.

Despite 87% of applications received by SBCC in March being identified as fake, no student aid has been distributed to fraudulent applicants, according to María L. Villagómez, Ed.D., assistant superintendent and vice president of academic affairs.

“It is something that requires almost an all-hands-on-deck kind of approach because, systematically, we don’t have the capacity to do those detections automatically,” Villagómez explained.

At SBCC, fraudulent applications tend to target late-start, asynchronous online classes, where open seats are more common.

To apply to a California community college, applicants submit a form through CCCApply, the centralized application system used by all 116 colleges. Each institution is then responsible for screening applications to identify fraud.

SBCC uses a multi-tiered process. An automated system flags applications with suspicious characteristics, such as names written in all uppercase or lowercase, invalid addresses or phone numbers, and unusual email domains. Admissions staff manually review those flagged, and faculty are asked to remove no-show students.

“We have to be very judicious at determining when we drop a potential bot and when we choose not to, because then we’re risking dropping an actual student and that is counterproductive,” Villagómez said.

In February, SBCC received nearly 2,500 applications. Of those, just over 550 were legitimate. Officials said 77% were identified as fraudulent, and only 14 fraudulent actors made it past initial screening, all of whom were later removed from class rosters.

While no fraudulent students received financial aid, the vetting process has placed a burden on staff. Villagómez said no overtime is being used, so other priorities have been delayed.

“Are we paying in other ways? Absolutely! It does shift the priorities for those teams, for those areas and something’s got to give.”

Villagómez emphasized that artificial intelligence is both a challenge and a tool in the ongoing effort to combat fraud.

“It’s a double-edged sword,” she said. “AI helps the bots, but it also helps us catch them.”

Allan Hancock College in Santa Maria has a similar multi-tiered screening system, but some fraudulent aid has been distributed.

“So far in the 2024–2025 academic year, only one-tenth of one percent (0.01%) of financial aid disbursed was found to be fraudulent, out of the $16.7 million distributed to students,” a college representative said.

That amounts to approximately $1,670.

Villagómez said more needs to be done at the state level.

“We need a permanent solution, not just temporary patches,” she said. “As long as there are huge financial incentives, there will continue to be problems.”

Despite the state allocating more than $150 million since 2022 to improve cybersecurity at community colleges, CalMatters, a nonprofit news organization, reports that fake community college students have stolen more than $10 million in federal financial aid and more than $3 million in state aid over the last 12 months.

After the CalMatters report, nine Republican U.S. representatives asked U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon and U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate financial aid fraud at California’s community colleges.

A representative from the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office told News Channel in an email this week that officials from the U.S. Attorney General’s Office and the FBI have expressed interest in supporting efforts to investigate and identify potential fraud.

The call to action comes as fake applications to community colleges surge across the state. Between 2021 and 2024, the percentage of fake applications rose from 20% to 25%. In the past year alone, one-third of all applications were fraudulent.

This week, the California Community Colleges Board of Governors voted to require all students to verify their identity—a step that was previously optional. The board also debated imposing a modest application fee (no more than $10) to deter mass fraudulent submissions but ultimately rejected the idea after more than two hours of discussion. Instead, staff were directed to “explore” a future fee policy, CalMatters reports.

Villagómez said she hopes to see improved detection tools, clearer statewide policies, and stronger institutional support to help colleges combat fraud more effectively.

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Andrew Gillies

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — Santa Barbara police arrested an armed man on State Street in connection with a shooting earlier in the day and a separate domestic violence incident that left one person seriously injured.

Officers spotted 24-year-old Danyel Raymond Avalos in his vehicle near East Carrillo Street around 6:35 p.m. Thursday.

As officers approached, Avalos reportedly reached for his waistband, where he had a loaded handgun with an extended magazine. Detectives quickly subdued him before he could grab the weapon and arrested him without further incident.

Police said Avalos is connected to a shooting that occurred around 12:02 a.m. Thursday in the 1100 block of Hutash Street. No one was injured in the shooting, which police say stemmed from a domestic violence incident involving individuals known to Avalos.

Authorities also discovered Avalos was already wanted by the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office for another domestic violence case that resulted in serious injuries to the victim.

Avalos was booked on multiple felony charges, including attempted murder.

“This was an extremely dangerous situation, and I commend our detectives and officers for their swift, courageous, and professional actions in taking a violent suspect into custody without further harm to the public,” said Santa Barbara Police Chief Kelly Gordon. “Their dedication to protecting our community is evident in the way they handled this high-risk apprehension.”

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Mike Klan

FULLERTON, Calif. – UC Irvine defeated Cal Poly by a final score of 15-3 in seven innings to advance to the title game of the 2025 Big West Baseball Championship, Friday at Goodwin Field.

The Anteaters (41-13) secured the win with back-to-back six-run innings in the fourth and fifth, showcasing their offensive strength. UCI tallied 15 hits, including two home runs, while holding Cal Poly (38-17) to three runs on 10 hits. Blake Penso tallied five RBIs, while Jacob McCombs recorded four RBIs and a home run. Anthony Martinez excelled at the plate, leading the team with 3 hits and driving in 2 runs. Anteater starter Trevor Hansen improved to 9-2 on the year with giving up three runs on 6.0 innings of work, recording six strikeouts.

The Mustangs recorded 10 hits of their own, with Ryan Fenn and Nate Castellon accounting two each.

UC Irvine started off with two runs in the opening frame, with McCombs and Chase Call driving in one run apiece. A Cal Poly fielding error in the third inning increased the Anteaters’ lead to 3-0.

A RBI from Colin Yeaman, three-run home run from McCombs and a two-run bomb from Blake Penso in the fourth inning gave UCI a 9-0 advantage. In the fifth inning Martinez hit a 2-RBI double, Penso drove in three runs and Alonso Reyes recorded an RBI single to make it 15-0 in favor of the Anteaters.

Cal Poly responded with three runs in the top of the sixth with Alejandro Garza, Casey Murray Jr. and Dylan Kordic getting one RBI each to account for the final score of the game.

(Article courtesy of Big West)

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Mike Klan

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. –

CIF-Central Section Semifinals:

Division 1:

St. Joseph 6, Buchanan 3 (SJ vs Centennial in championship game Saturday, May 31 6pm in Visalia)

Division 4:

Wasco 2, Pioneer Valley 0

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Mike Klan

GOLETA, Calif. – After two close playoff wins on the road, Dos Pueblos cruised in their home CIF-Southern Section Division 4 quarterfinal with an 11-1 win over Trinity Classical Academy of Valencia.

Dos Pueblos will stay at home for Tuesday’s semifinal game against Thousand Oaks who beat Woodbridge 6-3.

The Chargers got a strong start from senior pitcher Seth Tedeschi who set the tone by striking out the side in the top of the first inning.

(Tedeschi pitched five scoreless innings, striking out 6 batters. Entenza Design).

Senior Alexander Hajda got the offense rolling with a towering 2-run home run to left field.

It’s his second home run of this postseason.

(Hajda rounds the bases after crushing a fastball in the first inning. Entenza Design).

Tedeschi got out of a jam in the top of the second with some great defense.

With runners on the corners and no outs, Hajda made a nice running catch in foul territory for the first out.

The second out came on a fly ball to left field and when the Knights tried to tag up from third, Charlie Potter fired a strike to catcher Zach Gesswein who tagged out Luke Backes for an inning-ending double play to keep the game 2-0.

DP made it 3-0 in the bottom of the third inning on a sacrifice fly by Gesswein to plate Stone Saunders.

Shane Grant ripped a run-scoring single in the bottom of the fourth inning to put DP up 4-0 .

The Chargers used a 6-run sixth inning to blow the game wide open.

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Mike Klan

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. –

CIF-SS Baseball Quarterfinals:

Division 4:

Dos Pueblos 11, Trinity Classical Academy 1

Thousand Oaks 6, Woodbridge 3 (DP hosts TO on Tuesday semifinals)

South Torrance 3, Pacifica 1

Division 5:

Camarillo 4, Long Beach Poly 3 (8 innings) (Cam at Elsinore on Tuesday semifinals)

Division 7:

Channel Islands 8, Norwalk 0

Grace 2, Don Bosco Tech 1

Division 8:

Fillmore 3, La Quinta/Westminster 2

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