Victim Had a Court Ban on Husband

A Santa Ana woman allegedly killed by her husband outside a strip mall early Sunday had obtained a restraining order against the man 10 days ago, according to court documents.

Roberto Sarabia, 52, of Garden Grove was under orders to stay at least 100 yards from his estranged wife, Olga, 47. The court order also prohibited him from carrying a gun.

Sarabia opened fire outside a crowded Santa Ana mall Sunday morning, killing his wife and her male companion, Jose Antonio Huerta, 45, of Hammonton, N.J., police said.

The two were shot down in front of a Mexican deli, said Sgt. Carlos Rojas, a Santa Ana police spokesman.

When Sarabia surrendered to police at the mall he was clutching a .357-caliber revolver, Rojas said.

The Sarabias’ son, Robert, 21, said police found a .22-caliber hunting rifle when they searched his father’s Garden Grove home. The couple have two grown children.

In addition, Olga Sarabia had three children from a previous marriage.

Citing irreconcilable differences, Olga Sarabia filed for divorce in September after 18 years of marriage. The divorce case was pending.

The son said that in recent months his mother had begun seeing Huerta, a childhood friend from Mexico. He said the two were close but not intimate.

“He was somebody she could talk to,� the son said.

The son said he had a long conversation with his father Saturday night and that his father grew angry as he discussed the pending divorce and his wife’s friendship with Huerta.

“My father had these mood swings,� the son said. “He was having trouble dealing with these things.�

He said that his father had been stalking his mother for some time. He would tell his family he was going to work, “but all he was doing was stalking her down,� Robert Sarabia said.

He said if asked, he will testify against his father.

“I hate him for what he did to us,� he said.