An assault has turned into a murder investigation, and an arrest on the Central Coast.
Santa Maria Police were called to the North Presker Lane Sunday night, by a report someone had been attacked at a self-storage complex. They found an unconscious man with serious head injuries on the ground.
Detectives quickly identified a Santa Maria man as a suspect in the case. They say Carlos Loyola stole the victim’s car. Officers spotted it near the Highway 101-166 interchange in San Luis Obispo County. There was a brief chase which ended when Loyola crashed into a Santa Maria Police Department patrol car. No one was injured in the collision.
The 30-year-old Santa Maria man was arrested. The victim of the assault later died at a hospital, so Loyola is now facing a murder charge. The name of the victim hasn’t been released.
