Jan
29
Weekend Wrap-up–Taggers Arrested and Traffic Stop Leads to Weapons Arrest
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SANTA BARBARA, CA - 1/28/2008 - On 1/26/08 at 12:37 a.m. an officer patrolling the 600 block of W. Anapamu Street noticed two individuals, later identified as Ruben Sagastume 19 years old and Christian Sagastume 24 years old, crouch behind a parked vehicle attempting to hide form him. Both individuals were dressed in dark clothing and wearing ski masks on top of their heads. Ruben and Christian were contacted and found to be in possession of a backpack containing cans of spray paint and brass knuckles. Officers searched the area and found that the Anapamu Street foot bridge had recently been “tagged” with extensive graffiti. The color of the graffiti on the bridge matched the color of spray cans found in the backpack. Furthermore, both Ruben and Christian Sagastume had paint on their hands that matched the color paint on the bridge. Ruben was also found to be in possession of a switch blade knife. Ruben Sagastume was arrested for felony vandalism, possession of an illegal weapon, and possession of a switch blade knife. Christian Sagastume was arrested for felony vandalism.
On 1/26/08 at 5:12 p.m. an officer patrolling the 1200 block of San Pascual Street noticed three indiviuals sitting in a parked vehicle. As the officer passed the vehicle, the driver, later indentified as Ian Desantis 18 years old, seemed startled by the officer’s presence. As soon as the officer drove by the vehicle, the vehicle pulled away from the curb and headed north on San Pascual Street. The officer conducted a u-turn, monitored the vehicle, and subsequently conducted a traffic stop. During the traffic stop, the right front passenger, Pedro Arispe 24 years old, exited the vehicle. Arispe was searched and found to be in possession of a fixed blade hunting knife measuring approximately 10 inches. A search of the vehicle revealed a 17 inch metal pipe and a baseball bat. Ian Desantis and Pedro Arispe were arrested for possession of a dangerous weapon. The third passenger, Carlos Davis, 24 years old, was arrested for parole violation.
Jan
22
Suspicious Fire Investigated–Canine Dies in Vehicle Fire
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SANTA BARBARA, CA - On 01/20/08 at approximately 0311 hours, officers and fire personnel responded to the 2600 block of Murrell Road on a call of an explosion heard in the area. Upon arrival they found two vehicles fully engulfed in flames. The registered owner of one of the vehicles was found walking outside of his vehicle suffering from significant burn injuries. The investigation revealed that there had been a canine in one of the vehicles which subsequently perished in the fire. The fire is currently under investigation in order to determine the cause and nature of the fire.
Jan
22
SANTA BARBARA, CA - On 01/17/08 at 2350 hours, officers responded to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital on a stabbing investigation. Upon their arrival officers were informed the 17 year old male victim was being treated for multiple stab wounds. Officers were unable to speak with the victim due to him being in surgery at the time. Officers continued their investigation and subsequently were able to identify the location of the attack as the 1200 block of San Pascual Street. According to a witness, several Hispanic males got out of a vehicle on the 1200 block of San Pascual St. and assaulted the victim. The incident appears to be gang related and is currently under investigation by Youth Services Detectives.
Jan
22
D.A.R.E. Graduation Will Draw Hundreds–Celebration of Education and Resistance
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SANTA BARBARA, CA - 01/17/08 - The Santa Barbara Police Department is pleased to announce that the latest class of D.A.R.E. students will graduate next Wednesday, January 23rd, at 9:30 a.m., at the Arlington Theatre, 1317 State Street. D.A.R.E. in an acronym for: Drug Abuse Resistance Education. This group of over 400 sixth and fifth grade students (from 6 schools) joins rank with 17,000 others who have graduated since local inception in 1987. Officer Anita Chamberlain personally educated all 400+ students on the D.A.R.E. philosophy. In addition to discussing the perils of drug use and violence, Officer Chamberlain teaches responsibility and how to make good choices. Each student composed an essay explaining what they have learned. The essays were judged and a winner selected from each class and school.
The following students were selected as school essay winners:
Cleveland Elementary School: Joaquin Zarate
Franklin Elementary School: Jackie Lopez
Hope Elementary School: Maisie Zimmerman
Monroe Elementary School: Dolan Ingraham
Monte Vista Elementary School (6th Grade): Chris Benwitt
Monte Vista Elementary School (5th Grade): Keiko Eastman
Santa Barbara Community Academy: Destin Cavazos
The Santa Barbara High School Jazz Band provides music to this free public event. All are invited to attend the one-hour D.A.R.E. graduation. Come support our students!
Jan
10
On January 8, 2008 a 1990 Isuzu special construction vehicle (paint striping) was traveling southbound on US 101 approaching Bailard Avenue in Carpinteria. According to witnesses, who were traveling directly behind the Isuzu, it drifted to the right out of the traffic lane and onto the shoulder, where it traveled several hundred feet through an area of ice plant before striking a wood/metal guard rail and then a concrete pillar for the Bailard Avenue over pass.
The driver of the Isuzu, a male resident of Sylmar, was pronounced dead at the scene due to blunt force impact trauma. The right front passenger, 35 year old Gabriel Luna of Santa Paula, was extricated out of the vehicle by the Carpinteria-Summerland Fire Department using the “Jaws of Life.” Mr. Luna was transported by AMR Ambulance to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital where he was treated and released for only minor injuries. Both occupants were wearing their seatbelts.
The Isuzu was en route back to Ventura County after working overnight at the Santa Barbara Airport conducting paint striping. Due to the circumstances of the collision, CHP investigators suspect that the deceased driver fell asleep at the wheel. The collision remains under investigation. The right lane of US 101 southbound was closed during the investigation and clean up. It was reopened at 10 AM.
A small amount of paint was spilled from the Izusu but was deemed not hazardous by inspectors and was cleaned up by Caltrans. No damage was sustained to the Bailard Avenue over pass. No other vehicles were involved and alcohol is not suspected. The name of the victim will be released one next of kin notification has been completed by the Santa Barbara County Coroner’s Department.
Jan
7
SANTA BARBARA, CA - 1/3/2008. Last night, 1/2/08 at 9:55 p.m., brothers aged 15 and 17, who are both known gang members, were loitering near Alice Keck Park, at 1500 Garden Street. Reportedly, four to five Hispanic males confronted them with the challenge of “where they were from.” The two gang members said their gang affiliation; one said he would fist-fight the challengers “one at a time.” One of the challengers pulled a knife and the larger group chased the two gang members. One of the gang members threw his bicycle at the attackers before fleeing. He sustained a minor cut to his torso and arm. The two gang members went home and their mother brought them to Cottage Hospital. The one with the stab wounds (aged 17) was admitted for observation. Neither gang member was cooperative with police, so the exact circumstances of who provoked the incident remain unclear.
Coincidently, while police were futilely attempting to question the two gang members, an 18-year-old gang member from a rival gang arrived at Cottage Hospital with a badly lacerated hand. He told police he cut his hand in a skateboarding accident, and provided a location for the accident. Police searched but did not find any blood or evidence of an accident as described by this individual.
Detectives believe the Alice Keck Park stabbing incident is gang related, and have suspicions the rival gang member with the lacerated hand was involved.
Jan
3
SANTA BARBARA, CA - 1/2/2008. As always, SBPD continues to make driving under the influence a top enforcement priority. Here is a synopsis of twelve (12) DUI arrests made over the long New Year?s weekend, including one arrest for boating under the influence:
On 12/27/07 at 11:30 p.m. Officer Beutel stopped Michael James Hale, age 24 for attempting a U-Turn the wrong way on Gutierrez Street in his 2007 BMW X5. Hale was arrested for DUI.
On 12/28/07 at 8:30 p.m. Sandra Lee Carrisosa, age 46, was driving north on Las Positas in her 1993 Mercedes. Reportedly, she ran a red light at Portesuello and collided with a 2008 VW Jetta. Carrisosa fled the scene, followed by the VW driver. Carrisosa stopped on McCaw Road and the other driver called police. Carrisosa was arrested for DUI and Hit-and-Run.
On 12/30/07 at 1:15 a.m. Officer Beutel drove up on an argument between a motorist and the kiosk operator at City Lot 11, 500 Anacapa Street. As the motorist drove away, the kiosk operator said the driver appeared “really drunk.” Officer Beutel stopped Serena Elisa Masuda, age 24, in her 2006 Honda Civic, after seeing her drive straight for five blocks with her left turn signal on. Masuda was arrested for DUI.
On 12/30/07 at 1:55 a.m. Officer Beutel stopped Caroline Neale Gillen, age 22 after seeing her stopped in a red-zone blocking traffic at 500 State Street. Gillen was arrested for DUI.
On 12/30/07 at 2:10 a.m. police investigated a traffic collision at 300 State Street. A 2007 Nissan Versa had rear-ended a 2000 Ford sedan causing major damage to both vehicles. The driver of the Nissan, Helen DeLeon, age 25 was arrested for DUI and possession of marijuana.
On 12/30/07 at 8:25 a.m. a citizen called police dispatch to report a man slumped in the front seat of a parked Dodge Dakota pickup at 200 E. Valerio Street. The citizen believed the man was intoxicated, would drive away, and injure someone. Officer Hollis arrived in time to stop Raul Flores Rodriguez, age 36, as he was driving away in the Dodge truck. Rodriguez was arrested for DUI.
On 12/30/07 at 5:30 p.m. Harbor Patrol Officer Petrini stopped a 13 foot aluminum skiff being piloted without a hull number. The operator, Andrew Joseph Schoneman, age 18 displayed symptoms of being under the influence. Officer Ortega arrived and arrested Schoneman for piloting a vessel under the influence of alcohol and marijuana.
On 12/31/07 at 1:05 a.m. Officer Klug stopped Scott Lyman Warren, age 42 for making a left turn in his 2007 Mercedes C230 out of City Lot 10 as prohibited by posted signs. Warren was arrested for DUI.
On 1/1/08 at 12:30 a.m. police responded to a traffic collision at Cliff Drive and Meigs Road. A 1998 Toyota Camry made a left turn in front of 2000 Mercury sedan, causing moderate damage to both vehicles. The driver of the Camry, Brielle Ashley Nikaido, age 22 was arrested for DUI.
On 1/1/08 at 12:35 a.m. Officer Klug stopped Moira Leigh Norton, age 50 in her 2007 Lexus sedan, on upper State Street for weaving across both lanes and driving in the bicycle lane. Norton was arrested for driving under the combined influence of alcohol and drugs. A charge of possession of cocaine was added after a small bindle of suspected cocaine was found in her purse.
On 1/1/08 at 2:50 a.m. a local cabdriver was stopped for a red light on Garden at Anapamu Street. He heard screeching tires and looked in his rearview mirror. A 1991 GMC Van skidding toward him jinked to the right at the last moment, sideswiping his cab, scraping against a tree, and running the right tires up on the curb. The suspect vehicle turned right and fled west on Anapamu Street. The cab driver followed while his passenger, a fare, called police dispatch from a cell phone. The suspect drove to 200 E. Victoria Street, where he ran the vehicle up on the curb, jumped out, and fled wearing socks but no shoes. The cab driver followed; the fare providing moment by moment updates to guide police to the suspect. Officers Rose and Tudor located the suspect, Carlos Rivera Rios, age 18 at Laguna and Figueroa Street. As they were handcuffing Rios, the excited cabdriver was exclaiming, “He hit my cab!” Rios was arrested for hit-and-run, DUI, unlicensed driver, no insurance, plus a $10,000 warrant stemming from a prior case of being an unlicensed driver with no insurance.
On 1/1/08 at 11:50 p.m. Officer Klug stopped Amanda Lynn Armstrong Smith, age 27, for driving her 2007 Toyota Tacoma pickup at 3200 State Street with no license plates. Smith was arrested for DUI. Note that the license plates were in the truck, but Smith simply neglected to attach them to the vehicle.
Jan
2
On January 2, 2008 at approximately 1:50 AM, a two-officer CHP unit was patrolling northbound on US 101 at Mission Street when they observed a gray Honda CRV entering northbound US 101 from Mission Street just ahead of them. The Honda immediately drove into the left (#1) lane and accelerated to 85-90 miles per hour (MPH). When the officers activated the patrol car’s red emergency lights to stop the Honda, it immediately accelerated to 110-120 MPH.
The Honda maintained 110-120 MPH from SR 154 to Glen Annie Road, a distance of approximately seven miles, with the pursuing CHP officers directly behind with their code-three lights and siren activated. Approximately 1/2 mile north of Glen Annie Road, the Honda without warning changed from the left lane to the right (#2) lane occupied by a 1994 Freightliner Tractor-Trailer Rig approximately 300 feet ahead. The Honda did not brake and it slammed directly into the rear trailer of the big rig at approximately 110-120 MPH.
The driver of the Honda, 20 year old Ryan Nicholas Hofmann of Santa Barbara, was killed instantly. The driver of the big rig, 47 year old Juan Jose Flores of Bakersfield was uninjured. Mr. Flores was traveling from southern California to San Luis Obispo to pick up a load of cargo at the time the truck was struck by the Honda. There were no other occupants of either vehicle.
Due to the unusual circumstances of this collision and the death of Mr. Hofmann, the CHP and the Santa Barbara County Coroner?s Department are attempting to determine whether or not this was a completed suicide attempt. No other vehicles were involved and Mr. Flores was uninjured.
Jan
2
SANTA BARBARA, CA - 12/31/2007. Here is a summary of some incidents handled this weekend by SBPD officers:
On 12/28/07 at 2:30 a.m. police responded to a disturbance call at 600 Chapala Street. Two men, one with a bicycle, were walking home after getting off work at an Anacapa Street restaurant. When they reached Ortega and Chapala Streets, three men accosted and challenged them. Two of these three men assaulted the victims by punching them in the face. The one victim dropped his bicycle, which was scooped up by one of the suspects, who all fled. The victims sustained a swollen eye, a cut lip, and minor bruises. Police obtained a description and located one suspect, Adam Ali Mobarak, age 22 a block away. He was identified as one of the main suspects. The bicycle was found abandoned around the corner on De La Vina Street. The second suspect was not located, but Mobarak was booked at County Jail for robbery.
On 12/28/07 at 11:10 p.m. an agitated woman banged on the front door of a residence in the 200 block of Los Aguajes Street. When the 54-year-old resident opened the door, the woman barged in, claiming to have been chased. When the man said he would call the police to investigate, the woman punched the man and fled out into the night. Based on the description police of the female, officers located the intoxicated woman, Tiana Gia Cara age 23, at the corner of Bath and Los Aguajes. The officer, believing Cara could not care for her own safety, arrested her for public intoxication. Cara then struck the male officer in the groin as she was being searched by the female officer. Cara was arrested without further incident or injury. Inside Cara?s purse was suspected marijuana and cocaine. Cara was booked for battery on a police officer, possession of marijuana and cocaine, and being under the influence of cocaine.
On 12/28/07 at 11:40 p.m. officers patrolling at 600 Chapala Street saw two employees of the Wildcat Bar chasing after two men. The employees stated the fleeing pair had just punched a customer and knocked him out. Police detained the fleeing suspects and contacted the dazed victim and his fianc?e. The victim and his fiance reported dancing at the Wildcat and returning to their table. Some men stood in their way. As they pushed past, one stocky-built man became angry and yelled at them. The music was loud and they couldn’t hear. The stocky man suddenly punched the victim twice in the face and fled. Of the two men detained by police, Anthony Sarabia, age 27 of Goleta was identified as the assailant. Sarabia had brass knuckles in his pocket. He was arrested for battery causing serious injury, and possession of an illegal weapon.
On 12/29/07 at 4:08 p.m. police responded to a fight call at Carrillo and Anacapa Street. Upon arrival the area was clear of victims or suspects, but a blood trail led east on Carrillo Street. Witnesses reported seeing a vehicle hurriedly stop at the curb. Multiple suspects described as gang members jumped out and attacked the two victims with clubs. Police located the two victims, ages 16 and 17, at the rear of a property in the 400 block of E. Carrillo Street. One was treated at Cottage Hospital for a bump and small laceration to the head, and the other for a small laceration to his back. Both are gang members/associates. Detectives believe this incident is gang related.
Jan
2
On 12/19/07 at 8:00 p.m. a 25-year-old woman parked her vehicle in the 1200 block of De La Vina Street, walked downtown, and met up with some friends. That evening (12/20/07), at 2:00 a.m. the woman, after an evening socializing at a two downtown locations, was walking back to her vehicle. When less than one-quarter block from the safety of her parked vehicle, the woman sensed movement from behind a large palm tree in the parkway. Suddenly, a man jumped out at her and clasped her throat tightly in his hand. Petrified, the woman stood in his grasp for several seconds. She lifted her arm in front of her, unconsciously offering her purse in exchange for her safety. The suspect took the offered prize and fled on foot.
Meanwhile, two men ages 23 and 24 were driving down De La Vina Street. They didn?t see the street robbery but did see the suspect flee with a purse. They remarked out loud that this looked just like a purse snatch. The victim, who suddenly remembered that her entire Christmas shopping fund of $600 cash was in the purse, desperately ran in the street after the suspect. She saw the witnesses? vehicle, banged on the hood, and pleaded for help. The witnesses jumped out and gave chase. They caught up to the suspect, who threw the purse down and tried hiding in some bushes. The witnesses, unsure of exactly what to do, returned the purse to the victim. The victim, equally out of her element, jumped in her vehicle and drove away, leaving only her first name as a clue to her identity. The suspect, who was more sure of what to do, fled the area. The witnesses, who happened to live nearby, returned to their residence to talk about the incident.
The suspect, possibly deciding to waylay another victim, returned to the area and loitered in the shadows. The witnesses noticed him, recognized him as the suspect, and called police. Police officers contacted the suspect, the witnesses, but not the victim because she left the area. At the crime scene police found a broken strand of pink pearls, apparently dropped unnoticed by the victim. Detective Jaycee Hunter investigated the case. Even without the victim being contacted or identified, he developed enough information to arrest the suspect, Noe Cortez Gonzalez, age 18, for robbery. His work not done, Detective Hunter used the scant victim information and managed to track down and contact the victim. She provided a statement and identified the pink pearls as her own. Noe Cortez Gonzales remains in custody on a charge of robbery, on $50,000 bail.