Domestic Disturbance Leads to Death

After arguing with his wife and reportedly threatening her with a handgun, a Solvang man was found dead with what appears to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

At around 6:30 p.m. on Sunday, September 12, Santa Barbara Sheriff’s deputies were sent out to the 2200 block of Sunrise Way in Solvang to investigate a report of a domestic disturbance, said spokesperson Drew Sugars. A man in his 40s – whose name has not yet been released – had purportedly threatened his wife with a gun, but she was able to flee the couple’s home without being harmed.

When authorities arrived, they tried to contact the man inside. After a number of unsuccessful attempts, reported Sugars, the SWAT team was called in, and the Sheriff’s Office sent out Reverse 911 calls to surrounding residences to warn them of the situation.

Members of the SWAT team as well as the Sheriff’s Hostage Negotiation Team tried again to make contact with the man, but he did not respond. At around 11:15 p.m. the SWAT team entered the home and found the man dead inside. Sugars said that, in the preliminary stages of the investigation, it appears the man died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The exact cause of death and when he passed away will be known definitively once the Coroner’s Bureau finishes its investigation.

[UPDATE, 3:00 p.m.]: The deceased man has been identified as 44-year-old Harold F. Meyers.