By F. Scott Faulkner
SANTA MARIA, CA –– April 15, 2025 – Raymond Earl Smith was fatally stabbed in Santa Maria on March 9.
The Santa Maria Police Department investigated the homicide, but did not make an arrest at the time in the case
pending “further investigation.”
SMPD detectives later identified 53-year-old Santa Maria resident Jaime Cid as the suspect in the killing.
During the last week of March, the Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office filed a criminal complaint
charging Cid with murder and a sentencing enhancement for personal use of a knife.
According to Santa Barbara County Deputy District Attorney Austin Ingalls, “the complaint also alleges
two prior felony strike convictions under California’s three-strikes law.”
Cid was incarcerated at California State Prison in Corcoran, Kings County, serving a sentence related to a 2023 case in Santa Barbara County involving assault with
a deadly weapon and vandalism of a vehicle’s tires and windshield.
Cid also has prior convictions in Ventura County for voluntary manslaughter and first-degree
burglary.
Deputy D.A. Ingalls filed a motion requesting that Cid be transferred to Santa Barbara County to
face the new homicide charges.
On April 14, Cid was returned from state prison to Santa Barbara County Jail, where she remains in custody with his bail set at $1 million.
