Three Suspects Arrested in Connection with Fatal Overdose at Goleta Motel
GOLETA, CA — July 3, 2026 — Three men have been arrested and charged with felony narcotics offenses in connection with the fatal overdose of a 20-year-old woman found dead last month inside a Goleta motel room.
According to Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department Public Information Officer Raquel Zick, the case began June 21st when motel employees entered a room “after checkout time had passed and no one responded.” Inside the motel room, “staff found Aylin Lizana Castillo unresponsive.”
Responding to a 911 Emergency call, SBSD deputies arrived promptly and determined Castillo had died from a suspected accidental overdose. The immediately ensuing investigation quickly identified “multiple suspects believed to have trafficked illegal narcotics to the victim.”
Those suspects were identified as Ofelio Hernandez, 31, of Santa Barbara, William Tyndal Morrison, 44, of Santa Barbara, and Jose Angel Hernandez Leos, 31, of Goleta. On June 21st, detectives served search warrants on each suspect’s residence and seized “a multitude of narcotics,” including methamphetamine, Xanax, fentanyl, heroin and ketamine.’
Hernandez was taken into custody on June21st and was transported to Santa Barbara County Jail, where he was charged with transportation for sale of a controlled substance, transportation for sale of narcotics and an enhancement alleging a prior felony conviction.
The following day, June 22nd, Morrison and Leos were taken into custody and were transported to Santa Barbara County Jail where they were each booked on similar charges. All three remain in custody, with bail set at $1 million each.
– by F. Scott Faulkner
