[UPDATE] A citizen report of a brandished firearm near the Five-Points parking lot, first reported as a physical fight, led to a short vehicle chase and a prolonged search by foot on Friday. Around 8 a.m. on March 23, the Santa Barbara Police Department was dispatched to the McDonald’s on upper State Street. A witness was following the car, police spokesperson Anthony Wagner stated, telling police the male passenger was hitting the female driver. Concerned the woman was being held against her will, the cruiser hit its lights, but the car headed down De la Vina Street.

About half a dozen units were converging on the pursuit when the car crashed at Alamar Avenue. The driver, said to be Maryam Burgazi, jumped out and ran away. Eight to 10 officers spent several hours chasing her, now on felony status for hit-and-run, receiving reports from residents through the morning of someone running through their yards. She was found and arrested on Miradero Drive by early afternoon on warrants and Vehicle Code violations. The passenger, alleged to be Dustin Childers, was also arrested for Vehicle Code violations.

Officers are interviewing witnesses currently to determine exactly what happened in the parking lot and during the chase. One person in the suspect vehicle was treated at the hospital for an injury sustained in the collision.

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