– By F. Scott Faulkner
SANTA MARIA, CA — March 2, 2026
Santa Maria police arrested a local man early Saturday after a woman reported she had been
sexually assaulted and robbed at gunpoint inside a residence.
Shortly after 3 a.m. on February 28, Santa Maria Police Department patrol units Officers
responded to a local neighborhood residence pursuant to a 911 Emergency call reporting an
assault. When police arrived at the home, an adult female victim told them she had been sexually
and physically attacked by a man she knew as “Alex.”
According to Santa Maria Police Department spokesman Lt. Todd Logan, the suspect was
reportedly “armed with a handgun” during the encounter and “forcibly took money from the
victim” before retreating into the residence.
Police at the scene quickly determined the suspect was Angel Corona, 20, of Santa Maria.
Officers then established a perimeter around the home and repeatedly ordered him to come out,
but “he refused to comply.”
Because of the nature of the reported crimes and information indicating the suspect was armed,
detectives promptly obtained a search warrant and requested assistance from the Santa Maria
Police Department’s SWAT team.
After the SWAT team arrived and secured the scene, Corona surrendered and was taken into
custody without further incident. He was then transported to Santa Barbara North Branch County
Jail where he was booked on charges of rape, robbery and assault with a deadly weapon likely to
produce great bodily injury. He remains in custody on a no-bail hold.
