Two Sunday Night Stabbings in Santa Barbara

On Sunday night, Santa Barbara Police Department responded to two unrelated reports of stabbings in downtown Santa Barbara.

Officers first responded to a stabbing reported from Vera Cruz Park around 10:21 p.m. A 45-year-old male victim told officers that he and a 31-year-old got into an argument that resulted in the latter stabbing him in his right bicep. After police located the alleged stabber on the 500 block of Santa Barbara Street, he told officers that the two were lying in bed while watching TV and that he stabbed the victim with a knife because he made sexual advances. According to the police report, the 31-year-old grew agitated at the police station and attempted to smash the window of the interview room with a chair before being subdued by an officer’s Taser. He was booked into county jail on charges of assault with a deadly weapon and vandalism of the interview room. The victim was treated and released from the hospital.

Less than 20 minutes later, officers responded to a fight at 306 West Ortega Street, where they found a 47-year-old male victim with stab wounds to the side of his face and right shoulder. Witnesses reported that the victim had been in a fight with 54-year-old man who produced the knife to stab the victim twice. The victim was transported to the hospital to be treated for his injuries, and has been released. The alleged stabber fled the scene of the fight but was found by officers on Castillo Street, where he was arrested and booked in the county jail for two counts of assault with a deadly weapon.