A 66-year-old Montecito man who threatened to blow up his house was arrested Monday morning after a five-hour standoff with authorities. David Tallman called 9-1-1 at 3:15 a.m. and told Sheriff’s dispatchers he was going to explode several acetylene tanks in his home in the 1300 block of Virginia Road.
After the Sheriff’s bomb squad and hostage negotiation team arrived at the location, 138 reverse 9-1-1 calls were put out to nearby residents instructing them to evacuate. An evacuation center was set up at All Saints by the Sea Episcopal Church, freeway access to Olive Mill Road was shut down, and Coast Village Road was closed for several blocks.
At around 8:10 a.m., a small fire broke out in Tallman’s house, and negotiators convinced him to surrender soon after. A search of the home turned up two small acetylene tanks and one oxygen tank Tallman reportedly used to make jewelry. The cause of the fire remains under investigation. Tallman was booked at the Santa Barbara County Jail on felony charges of making criminal threats and resisting arrest.