The man convicted of shooting and killing a Santa Maria Navy veteran was sentenced Monday to 50 years to life in prison.
In October 2024, Ron Tutay was convicted of first degree murder for the death of Gerald Williams.
The shooting happened on the evening of July 2, 2022. Williams was walking outside Louie B's bar in the 200 block of East Main Street when Tutay shot him in the back. According to prosecutors, Tutay had waited on the sidewalk for over an hour before shooting Williams. After his arrest, Tutay reportedly used racial slurs to refer to Williams, who was Black.
At the sentencing, Santa Barbara County Senior Deputy District Attorney Austin Ingalls said, “Because of Mr. Tutay’s actions, this country lost a patriot, two children lost a father, and this community lost a friend.”
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Tutay received the maximum sentence allowed under the law.
