A Santa Maria man will die in prison after being sentenced to 118 years to life for Santa Barbara County crimes in addition to another 75 years-to-life term he received in Los Angeles County for similar charges.

Dustin Daniel Morales, 31, was convicted of attempted murder on a peace officer, assault with a semiautomatic firearm on a peace officer and carjacking by a Santa Barbara County Superior Court jury in April. He also has sentencing enhancements for personally using a firearm and the fact it’s his third strike under California’s Three Strikes Sentencing Law.

Santa Maria Police Department officers responding to an unrelated domestic disturbance at 3:30 p.m. on Nov. 14, 2020, on the 200 block of East Grant Street saw a man wanted for charges stemming from a different incident.

When police attempted to detain the subject, there was a physical altercation. 

The suspect pulled a handgun and shot at an officer, who was not injured and did not discharge his firearm, according to police.

Morales escaped by carjacking a vehicle in which a father and son were inside. 

After fleeing the Central Coast, he ended up in the Los Angeles area, where he was the passenger in a vehicle stopped by California Highway Patrol officers.

During the traffic stop, Morales moved into the driver’s seat and drove off, firing two or three shots with a semiautomatic 9mm handgun at CHP officers in pursuit, according to court documents.

For one of those officers, it was the first day in the field, authorities said.

The defendant eventually crashed the car he was driving, broke into a nearby residence, barricaded himself inside and eventually surrendered after a standoff with law enforcement officers.

During a hearing Tuesday before Judge Stephen Dunkle, Morales received the maximum sentence for the Santa Maria convictions: 50 years followed by 68 years to life in prison.

This sentence is in addition to the 75 years to life prison term the defendant received in Los Angeles County. That trial that took place first although the crimes occurred days after the Santa Maria incident.

Deputy District Attorney Noah Abolafia-Rosenzweig led the prosecution team while Marianne Zawadzki represented the defendant for the Santa Maria trial that began with jury selection in early April.

Police Sgt. Zack Robbins from the Santa Maria Police Department served as the primary investigating officer on the case.