Fausto Ortega Maldonado (DOB 11/19/1990)

Murder Charges Filed for July Stabbing Death of Paso Robles Man

Author: District Attorney
Date: 8/26/2019 6:03:05 PM

Fausto Ortega Maldonado (28) has been charged with murder for the stabbing death of Primitivo Pacheco Ortega (20). Mr. Ortega’s body was found near Estrella and Hog Canyon Roads in San Miguel on July 7, 2019. The San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office arrested Maldonado at the County Jail on Friday, August 23, 2019.


District Attorney Dan Dow announced today that Fausto Ortega Maldonado (28) has been charged with murder for the stabbing death of Primitivo Pacheco Ortega (20).  Mr. Ortega’s body was discovered early Sunday morning July 7, 2019, near the intersection of Estrella and Hog Canyon Roads in rural San Miguel.  It is believed that Mr. Ortega was murdered sometime between the evening of Saturday July 6, 2019 and the early morning of Sunday July 7, 2019 when his body was found.  A six-week investigation lead sheriff’s deputies to arrest Mr. Maldonado for the murder on Friday August 23, 2019.   At the time of his arrest, Mr. Maldonado was in-custody serving a jail sentence for felony domestic violence.

Mr. Maldonado is scheduled to be arraigned on August 27, 2019, at 8:30 a.m. in Department 3 of the San Luis Obispo Superior Court.

The case was investigated by the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office with the assistance of the District Attorney’s Office Bureau of Investigations and is being prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Julie Antos.

It is important to note that a criminal Complaint contains charges that must be proven in a court of law by proof beyond a reasonable doubt. Every defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

A copy of the complaint can be accessed here.  A copy of the defendant’s booking photo can be found here.

Please contact Assistant District Attorney Eric J. Dobroth at 805.781.5819 with any questions.