Santa Barbara Crime Blotter, 1/21 – 1/28

The Santa Barbara Independent’s crime blotter comes from a collection of arrest reports made available to the media by the SBPD. It’s a roundup of notable crimes and arrests that occurred in the City of Santa Barbara over the past week. The following narratives are provided by responding officers, and the names of suspects have been omitted because they have been arrested but not convicted of any crimes.

1/24, 12:09 a.m., 3618 State Street: There was an attempted robbery at the AM/PM gas station on State Street. An unarmed man entered the store and said he would shoot the cashier if he didn’t give him the money in the register. The clerk opened the drawer to show the robber there was no money in it. The suspect then took a lighter from the counter and began burning a piece of paper. He demanded the clerk’s keys to open the store safe, but the clerk informed him that he did not have a key to the safe. Before leaving the store, the suspect burned a promotional cardboard cutout displayed in the window. Shortly thereafter, police located a man matching the suspect’s description walking on State Street. A search revealed that he possessed the lighter and store keys. Upon arrest, the suspect was mirandized and agreed to speak to police. He claimed that he did not rob the store but his “evil twin” may have. According to the report, the suspect said that, “hypothetically speaking,” if he were to rob a store, he would use a gun and that if no gun was available he would “burn the place down.” The man was arrested for felony robbery and arson.

1/24, 1:49 a.m., 400 State Street: Police received a call from an employee of Wildcat Lounge. The employee claimed that some of his patrons were driving home drunk. Police located and pulled over the car containing two males. During a vehicle search, police found a bag of a white powdery substance, which was tested and determined to be cocaine. After doing a records check, it was discovered that the passenger of the vehicle had a restraining order against the driver. Both individuals were charged with cocaine possession and the driver was charged with DUI and violating a restraining order.

1/24, 1:36 p.m., 35 South Milpas Street: A homeless man tried to steal a 5-liter box of Franzia Burgundy Wine from Rite-Aid. An employee noticed the theft and called police. When officers arrived, the man was cooperating with the employees. According to the report, the man said that his “lust for alcohol” made him steal the wine and that he was “very ashamed” of his actions. The Rite-Aid employee said that she had caught the man shoplifting twice before but had decided only to warn him on those occasions. This time the man was arrested for petty theft.

1/24, 3:15 p.m., 215 East Figueroa Street: A man was arrested for public intoxication after “causing a disturbance” in the lobby of the SBPD police station.

1/25, 7:18 p.m., 1226 East Montecito Street: Police responded to a call of a dispute between a husband and wife. Upon contacting the husband, he said, “I pushed my wife and I need to go to jail.” Officers then interviewed the victim and she claimed she had been slapped on the left side of her face. The woman’s face was slightly red and bruised and the man was arrested on domestic violence charges.

1/27, 6:05 p.m., 936 San Pascual Street: A man was arrested for child endangerment and possession of drug paraphernalia after police were dispatched to a residence where a physical altercation was occurring. The man’s children were outside the residence when police arrived. Upon entering the home, the man admitted to fighting another person in front of his children. While in the house, police found a pipe used to smoke methamphetamine. According to the report, the man admitted that he smoked meth approximately “once every three days,” and that he usually waited for his kids to go to sleep before he smoked. But when he did smoke, he went on, it was either “in the bathroom or in the living room.” The report also noted that the children’s bedrooms had “very little floor space” and were filled with broken items and dirty clothes.