A Santa Barbara man who broke into a vacant Isla Vista apartment and refused to leave was arrested Friday afternoon by Sheriff’s deputies after an hour-long standoff.
The landlord of 897 Camino Del Sur called 911 to report that an “aggressive” Donald Cameron, 51, had entered one of the empty units, and when deputies arrived, they found him locked in the apartment’s bathroom. Additional deputies set up a perimeter with K-9 units and asked nearby neighbors to leave the area for their safety.
“Deputies talked with the suspect through the exterior window of the bathroom, but he continued to insist that he would not leave,” said Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Raquel Zick. “The suspect’s friend also spoke with him through the window, asking him to leave peacefully, but he refused. After talking to the suspect through the window for over an hour, negotiations deteriorated, and deputies decided to deploy a chemical irritant into the bathroom to encourage the suspect to surrender. Two rounds of O.C. (oleoresin capsicum) were deployed through the window, the suspect immediately came out of the bathroom, and was taken into custody by deputies inside the apartment.”
Cameron was booked into County Jail on charges of burglary (felony), vandalism (felony), and obstructing a peace officer (misdemeanor). His bail is set at $50,000.