Santa Barbara Crime Blotter, 3/4 – 3/11
OnStar Tracks Down Stolen Truck; Man Harasses El Cielito Patrons; Another Arrest at SBPD Headquarters
3/8, 11 a.m.; 215 East Figueroa Street: A man entered the police station’s lobby and began “screaming, shouting, and flailing his arms.” Station employees, fearing for their safety, quickly summoned an officer. The suspect tried to walk out of the station when he saw the officer but was arrested for disturbing the peace.
3/8, 6:23 p.m.; 222 West Constance Street: A man reported that his girlfriend of six weeks had punched him in the face in his home. Police didn’t notice any visible injuries. The victim declined to issue an emergency protective order, but he did sign a citizen’s arrest.
3/9, 9:07 a.m.; 3940 State Street: A McDonald’s customer left the keys to his Chevy Silverado on his front passenger seat while he ordered breakfast. When he came out of the restaurant, his truck had been stolen. The vehicle was connected to OnStar, so it was tracked down, and the thief was arrested.
3/9, 7:50 p.m.; 1800 Santa Barbara Street: A man entered La Arcada Plaza and began talking to customers at El Cielito restaurant. According to the report, the man took a knife out of his pocket, cut a hole in a white canvas tent, stuck his head through the hole, and began yelling “Wrong answer!” He left the scene but was tracked down and arrested for vandalism.
3/9, 7:19 p.m.; 320 West Pueblo Street: After being sent to Cottage Hospital for the second time in one day for alcohol-related issues, a man was charged with public intoxication.
3/9, 11:30 p.m.; 336 West Cabrillo Boulevard: Police responded to a report of a woman who followed a tenant into a room at the Best Western hotel and would not leave when told to by hotel employees. The suspect was still at the hotel when police arrived.
3/10, 9:26 a.m.; 1020 Coast Village Road: A homeless man began to fill grocery bags full of items at Vons and attempted to leave without paying. According to the report, “When an employee of Vons confronted him, he took a knife out of one of the grocery bags, pointed the knife at the Vons employee, and said, ‘Get back.’” He was arrested in the Vons parking lot soon after. The same man was arrested for assault the day before.
3/11, 1:30 a.m.; 1100 De la Vina Street: A witness reported that a man was smashing cars with a skateboard in a nearby parking lot. When police contacted the suspect, he admitted to hitting “no more than six cars.” The suspect claimed that he did it because he was bipolar and “no one would listen to me.”
