SANTA MARIA - Santa Maria Police have charged three people with conspiracy to commit murder after a man's body was found in the back of a U-Haul truck found parked in a quiet Orcutt neighborhood.
Detectives and crime scene investigators spent most of Tuesday at a home on the corner of West Donovan and Blosser Roads where they began what was initially called a violent death investigation on Monday.
Detectives got a big break Tuesday morning when a County Sheriff's deputy spotted a U-Haul truck they were looking for parked on Los Padres Road near Lakeview Road in Orcutt.
Police say when they opened the back of the trailer they found the man's body inside.
"We need to continue processing the evidence to find out the man's identity and cause of death", says SMPD Sgt. Mark Norling.
Neighbors on Los Padres Road were stunned to learn about the body found in the truck that was left on their block where children play in the streets.
"I know when I went out at 6:00pm last night it wasn't there and then when I went out again at 9:00pm it was there", says Los Padres Road resident Janet Wathen.
Police towed the U-Haul truck to another location to continue collecting evidence and begin work on identifying the man and how he died.
The three suspects in custody in connection with the investigation are 37 year old Ramon Maldonado, 28 year old Carmen Cardenas and 54 year old Pedro Torres all of Santa Maria and all charged with conspiracy to commit murder.
Police say they are looking at the possibility the homicide may be gang related.
Central Coast News has learned Ramon Maldonado was arrested last December for residential burglary.
