Dec
17
PAL Annual Holiday Dinner
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On December 17th at 6pm the Santa Barbara Police Activities League (PAL) will be hosting their Annual Holiday Dinner at the Cabrillo Arts Pavilion, 1118 East Cabrillo Boulevard, Santa Barbara, California. The invited guests will be treated to dinner served by police officers and volunteers from the Santa Barbara Police Department. Activities will include a visit from Santa and gifts given out to approximately 100 children. A very special Santa helper by the name of Lou Ventura will be present. Ventura has a local non profit called “Kids N Bikes”. He will be giving out 70 brand new bicycles to children at the holiday dinner. Please feel free to come by and see the smiles on these families’ faces. If you have any questions about this event, please call the PAL Office at 962-5560.
Dec
17
SANTA BARBARA, CA – 12/16/2008 – On 12-11-08 at approximately 8:56 a.m. Santa Barbara Police investigated the fatal stabbing of victim Lawrence Glenn Kaiser, age 45, at 231 W. Haley St. During the initial stages of the investigation, Detectives determined that the suspect was Steven Shane Cisneros, age 34, who was living at the address where the homicide occurred. The investigation determined that Cisneros, immediately after the homicide, fled to his girlfriend’s, Maria Esther Garzon age 57, residence at 1233 E. Gutierrez St. Garzon aided and abetted Cisneros in his flight from authorities and accompanied him to Oxnard where the two separated at which time Garzon returned to Santa Barbara in an attempt to conceal her involvement in Cisneros’ flight. On 12-11-08 at about 4:00 pm Detectives located Garzon at the MTD station in downtown Santa Barbara where she was taken into custody without incident and was booked into the Santa Barbara County Jail, with a $500,000.00 bail, for accessory, after the fact, to murder. There is no evidence, at this time, showing Garzon to have been directly involved in the stabbing death of the victim. The following day it was learned by Santa Barbara Detectives that Garzon was attempting to, from County Jail, dissuade witnesses in her case from testifying against her. Additional charges were added to her booking for attempted witness intimidation. Another $500,000.00 was added to her bail.
On 12-12-08 investigators continued their search for Cisneros when it was learned that he had family in Camarillo, California. Santa Barbara Police elicited the assistance of the Ventura County Sherriff’s Department. Investigators with that agency contacted Cisneros’ family and learned that he had made contact with them since the homicide. Santa Barbara Detectives responded to Camarillo where they conducted further investigation and determined that Cisneros was within the City limits. Santa Barbara Detectives, and Ventura County Sherriff’s Detectives, then conducted a joint surveillance operation within the City of Camarillo. At the same time of the joint surveillance, homicide suspect Cisneros was loitering in a park in Camarillo when he had an incidental contact with several teenagers who happened to be in the park on a youth group function. Cisneros disclosed to the youths that he had committed a homicide the day before and that he was contemplating turning himself in to police. Upon receiving this disclosure from Cisneros, the teenagers used their cell phones to call 911 and report Cisneros’ location. Santa Barbara Detectives, and the Ventura County Detectives, were already in the area conducting the surveillance for Cisneros and, upon receiving the 911 calls, responded to the park within minutes and took Cisneros into custody without incident. Santa Barbara Detectives transported Cisneros back to Santa Barbara and booked him at County Jail on a no bail warrant for homicide.
Dec
16
Weekend Stabbing
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SANTA BARBARA, CA – On 12-13-08 at 12:30 a.m., officers responded to a report of a stabbing that had just occurred at 554 Coronel Place. While responding, officers received information that the victim was being transported to the hospital by a friend. The victim had suffered a single stab wound to the stomach. The suspect was last seen fleeing the area on foot in an unknown direction. Officers arrived and learned the following:
There had been a rather large courtyard party at this apartment complex. The courtyard had approximately 150 people at the party and some did not even know there had been a stabbing. At one point during the party, a group of Hispanic males identifying themselves as gang members demanded alcohol from the party host since the party was occurring on their turf. They left and a short time later the victim was talking about the incident with a friend. The victim pointed to the suspect and told his friend that the suspect witnessed the previous argument with the gang members. The suspect took offense to this and a fight ensued between the suspect and the victim. The fight ended when the suspect stabbed the victim in the stomach. The suspect immediately fled the scene. The victim, age 19, was taken to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital. Once there, he was taken into surgery and deemed to be in a stable condition after surgery.
Officers quickly began to gather information from witnesses. Based on witness information, the suspect was identified as Joseph Ramos, age 25. Ramos had recently been released from prison. Numerous officers attempted to contact Ramos at his home but he was not there. On 12-13-08 at approximately 6:30 p.m., Ramos walked into the station lobby with his attorney and turned himself in. He was arrested for Assault With a Deadly Weapon. Bail was set at $30,000.
Dec
16
SANTA BARBARA, CA – On 12/11/08, at approximately 8:56 a.m., the Santa Barbara Police Department received a 911 call of a stabbing that had just occurred at 231 West Haley Street. As officers responded to the address they received further information that the suspect was a resident of the home and was last seen to the rear of the property in an alley. The suspect was named as Steve Cisneros. The caller described Cisneros as a white male adult, in his 30’s, short blond hair, 5′-10″ tall, weighing 200 pounds. He was last seen wearing a grey hooded sweatshirt and blue jeans.
The victim was transported to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital for a stab wound to the neck area. He was pronounced dead at the hospital. The victim is a white male adult age 45. His name is not being released pending notification of next of kin. It is unknown at this point whether the victim was temporarily staying at the home or whether he was a resident. The investigation is continuing.
The suspect has been identified as Steven Shane Cisneros, age 34. Cisneros is a white male with blond hair and blue eyes. He is 5′-9″ tall and weighs approximately 220 pounds. Information received during the investigation determined that Cisneros was last suspected to be in the Oxnard, California area.
UPDATE: The victim has been identified as Lawrence Glenn Kaiser, age 45, born in New Jersey but lived most of his life in North Lake Tahoe, Nevada. Kaiser had been in Santa Barbara for approximately one month. He had been at 231 W. Haley Street for approximately a week.
UPDATE: In the early morning hours of 12/13/08, the investigation revealed that Cisneros was at a park in Camarillo. SBPD Detectives, with the assistance of Ventura County Sheriff’s Deputies, took Cisneros into custody without incident and transported him back to Santa Barbara where he was booked at Santa Barbara County Jail.
Dec
16
The Santa Barbara Police Department is set to commence a year-long anti-DUI program aimed at preventing deaths and injuries on our roadways. New enforcement measures to combat impaired driving are coming as a result of a recent $129,851.00 grant awarded by the Office of Traffic Safety to the City of Santa Barbara. The Santa Barbara Police Department is dedicated to keeping our streets safe through both enforcement and education.
?Clearly, we take driving under the influence very seriously,? said Santa Barbara Police Chief Camerino Sanchez. ?DUI is a preventable crime and arresting DUI drivers will save lives.?
The special DUI Enforcement and Awareness grant is to assist in efforts to reduce the number of persons killed and injured in alcohol and other drug related collisions. The grant activities will specifically target impaired driving offenders as well as educate the public on the dangers of impaired driving. This will be done through the use of DUI/driver?s license checkpoints, warrant searches and stakeouts for repeat DUI offenders, saturation patrols, and court stings where DUI offenders with suspended or revoked driver licenses get behind the wheel after leaving court.
?Impaired driving is a serious crime that kills and injures thousands every year in California,” said Christopher J. Murphy, Director of the Office of Traffic Safety. ?This grant will help get drunk drivers off the roadways of Santa Barbara making it safer for everyone.
Funding for the grant comes from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Dec
3
Four Arrested for Robbery
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SANTA BARBARA, CA – On 12-2-08 at approximately 11:10 a.m. officers responded to a robbery with a gun call at Cigar Empire located at 3621 State St. Upon arrival officers contacted the owner of the business (victim) who said that he had just been robbed of cash and merchandise. According to the victim, three young men entered his business looking around for a few moments and left. Approximately 10 to 15 minutes later one of three men returned and selected a number of items. It appeared he was going to purchase the items, but he ultimately exposed a handgun he had in his waistband by lifting his shirt and the suspect demanded money and was given approximately $400 in cash. The suspect left the store on foot with the merchandise and the money. While officers were on scene investigating the crime, they were approached by the owner of Spudnuts doughnuts, located at 3629 State St. She informed officers that she too had been robbed by a lone young male suspect at 5:30 a.m. and had not yet reported the incident. According to the second victim, the suspect entered the store and ordered a dozen doughnuts. He then lifted his shirt and exposed a handgun he had in his waistband and demanded money. The suspect was last seen leaving on foot, eastbound on State St. with a dozen doughnuts and approximately $10 cash.
The investigation led police to Traveler’s Motel located at 3222 State St. Officers and detectives had the motel under close surveillance when detectives noted two subjects matching the description from the earlier robberies leave the motel. Detectives followed the subjects away from the motel contacting them a distance away from the area. A third subject was contacted as he exited the same room the two previous subjects were seen leaving. The three subjects were identified as being involved with the robberies and claimed the fourth subject was in fact still inside the motel room. Detectives waited for a period of time before the fourth subject exited the room and placed him into custody as well. A search warrant for the motel room and the suspect?s vehicle was obtained and a replica firearm and clothing that matched what the subjects were identified wearing earlier was seized. Also found in the vehicle was merchandise from Cigar Empire, approximately $150.00 and a half eaten doughnut.
Arrested for robbery were Edwin Orellana, age 18, Oscar Orlando Panduro Gomez, age 21, Kevin Oey Widarma, age 19, and Eleazar Torres, age 20. All four subjects were booked at Santa Barbara County Jail. Each of the suspects resides in the Imperial Valley with no local ties.
Dec
1
Three Robberies Over the Weekend
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On 11/28/2008 at approximately 7:00 p.m., Officers responded to Rite-Aid, 825 State regarding a robbery with a knife. The cashier told officers that the suspect entered the store and produced a knife while demanding cash from the register. The suspect was described as a Hispanic male adult, 30?s, wearing a blue-gray short sleeve shirt and blue jeans. He was also wearing dark sunglasses and a white baseball cap.
On 11/28/2008, at approximately 9:30 p.m., Officers responded to PetCo, 3985 State Street regarding a robbery with a knife. The investigation revealed that store employees locked the doors to the store at approximately 9:00 p.m. At about 9:30 p.m., the suspect entered the manager’s office where she was counting the day’s receipts. It is believed that the suspect hid inside the store prior to employees locking the doors. The suspect was described as a Hispanic male adult, mid 20’s, wearing a black ski jacket, black ski gloves, orange ski goggles with black rims, and his hood was pulled up and cinched down over his face. The victim stated the suspect produced a knife and ordered her to give him all the money. He then asked her to open the safe and hand him the money from the safe. After obtaining the money, he took her to the back of the store at knife point. The manager had another employee open the back doors. The suspect let the manager go and punched the employee before fleeing on foot.
On 11/29/2008, at approximately 8:05 p.m., officers responded to Goodwill, 302 West Carrillo Street on a call of a robbery that had just occurred. Upon arrival officers were told that by the manager that he had just closed the store at approximately 7:58 p.m. He then proceeded to the back office to count the money he had retrieved from the cash registers. The manager stated he was accompanied by another employee. Within minutes the victim saw the suspect standing at the doorway of the back office. The suspect was holding a knife and wearing a napkin on the lower part of his face. The suspect ordered the victims to the floor and then proceeded to take the money the manager had previously retrieved from the cash registers. The suspect then fled out the back doors of the business. The suspect was described as Hispanic male adult, 30-40 years of age, 5?6?-5?8?, wearing a brown polo shirt and blue jeans.
Anyone with information on these robberies is asked to call that Santa Barbara Police Department at (805) 897-2335.
Dec
1
On 11/30/08 at 2:30 a.m., officers responded to a fight and brandishing call at city lot 10 and found a victim suffering from major injuries. As the officers investigated the incident they learned that the suspect, Jamie Zavala (27 yr old Las Vegas resident), had been involved in a fight earlier with the victim after the victim asked for a cigarette. The victim then returned to the State Street area and told his friends what had happened. The victim and his friends then returned to the parking lot and located Zavala. The victim approached Zavala and punched Zavala on the back of the head. Zavala then began to fight with the victim knocking the victim to the ground. While the victim was on the ground, Zavala continued to punch the victim causing the victim to lose consciousness. Several onlookers attempted to stop the fight and as they stepped forward, Zavala’s friend, Luis Bravo, age 23, brandished a knife and told the witnesses to not come any further and to let the two fight “one on one.” The victim was still unconscious and Zavala continued to punch the victim and at one point kicked the victim in the head area. Witnesses became frightened and began to leave in their vehicles. Zavala then vandalized their cars as they drove away. Police arrived and Zavala and Bravo were spotted driving near the parking lot. They were stopped in the 500 block of Anacapa St. and subsequently arrested. Zavala was booked for assault with a deadly weapon, battery with serious injuries, and vandalism. Bravo was cited for Brandishing and released. The victim was admitted to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital for several injuries to head and face.