Jacob Saldivar (Ventura County District Attorney).
A man from California is facing a lengthy prison sentence following a series of violent crimes, which included fatally stabbing a person in the brain, assaulting an elderly man and fracturing his jaw, and enticing young girls to a motel for illegal sexual acts.
Jacob Saldivar, now 23, pleaded guilty on Monday to 12 felony charges such as murder, robbery, sodomy, and residential burglary as reported by the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office. Saldivar was 16, about to turn 17, when he perpetrated these crimes between April and June of 2019.
He confessed to the murder of 34-year-old Charles Barber, which took place on June 24, 2019, in the parking area of an apartment complex in Oxnard, located approximately 60 miles west of Los Angeles, after he became enraged and assaulted the victim with a knife.
“Barber collapsed inside the complex and subsequently died from multiple stab wounds, including one that penetrated his brain,” prosecutors said.
In addition to the murder, Saldivar committed numerous robberies, assaults, and burglaries. He targeted teenagers returning home from school or shopping and stole their phones, money, and jewelry. Some teens were assaulted, resulting in hospital treatment.
Saldivar also exploited elderly individuals. Just a few hours following Barber’s murder, he robbed a 75-year-old man in the parking lot of a Home Depot, taking necklaces, including one with the wedding ring of the man’s deceased wife. Approximately two weeks before the murder, he attacked an 82-year-old man, fracturing his jaw and causing “lasting memory issues.”
Additionally, on June 27, 2019, the individual lured two young girls to a motel, giving one a Xanax before he performed “unlawful sex acts,” as indicated by prosecutors. Later that day, Saldivar took selfies with a firearm and banged on a motel door, which led to his capture, concluding his spree of violence.
Despite being a minor at the time of the crimes, prosecutors tried Saldivar as an adult. He faces between 33 years to life in prison when he is sentenced on Oct. 7.
