Three arrested for Feb. Pleasant Hill Park stabbing death

PLEASANT HILL, CA (June 5, 2024) — Pleasant Hill Police Investigators have arrested three people in connection with the February 10, 2024, stabbing death of Santiago Jacobo.

In the early hours of Feb. 10, Pleasant Hill Police dispatch received a report of an unconscious and unresponsive male. The man was found lying on the ground in the main parking lot of Pleasant Hill Park.

Officers and medical personnel responded to the scene and determined the man deceased. Upon further examination, they determined the man had sustained stab wounds.

Last Friday, police arrested Pablo Gutierrez-Morales, 31, Concord; Vanessa Vera-Aguilar, 24, Antioch; and Jazmin Ruiz, 25, Antioch. Officers booked the suspects into the Contra Costa County Jail in Martinez under the charges of Murder and Conspiracy to Commit Murder.

During a three month-long investigation, Pleasant Hill Police detectives obtained evidence indicating the victim and suspects knew each other. They all worked together at The Watermark at San Ramon, an assisted living facility.

Investigators say the evidence shows that the arrested suspects planned, coordinated, and carried out the attack on Jacobo on the night of February 10, 2024. Jacobo had just finished his shift working as a custodian at Pleasant Hill Park.

Detectives determined that prior to Jacobo’s murder, he had been in a relationship with suspect Vanessa Vera-Aguilar. At the same time, another suspect, Pablo Gutierrez-Morales, was pursuing a new relationship with her.

Police detectives are asking anyone with information regarding Jacobo’s death and the involved suspects to contact the Pleasant Hill Police Investigations Bureau at (925) 288-4630.

The Pleasant Hill Police Department expressed thanks to the San Ramon Police Department for their assistance. They also thanked the Pleasant Hill Recreation and Parks District for their ongoing assistance throughout the homicide investigation.