Aug. 25
No time
Flashing lights rolled down Highway 246, but they didn’t belong to an emergency vehicle. Deputies stopped a car with flashing front and rear lights near Santa Ynez. The driver told them that the car did not belong to him and he did not know why the lights were blinking. He told deputies, his passenger was the owner of the car and that the pair was on their way home to Lompoc from the Chumash Casino. Deputies asked for the vehicles registration but the owner only had paperwork that showed the car was in the process of being registered. The owner of the car told deputies that he was too busy to go to the DMV and complete the registration. They reminded the man that all he had to do was mail in the registration but he told them he worked seven days-a-week and didn’t have time. Deputies told the owner, if he had enough time to gamble he should have had enough time to register his car. They then asked the man for his driver’s license. As he reached in his pocket, deputies saw the top of a knife sticking out of his pants. One deputy lunged to grab the knife and ended up knocking it out of the man’s pants and onto the ground, where it popped open. Another deputy picked up the knife and confirmed that it was a switchblade. The owner of the car said he did not know it was illegal to have a switch blade and sells them in his store. Deputies gave the owner several citations, the driver was not cited.
School graffiti
Sometime between Aug. 23 and 24, someone had spray-painted graffiti on a school in Santa Ynez. The person who reported the crime said he did not have information about a suspect and estimated the damage at $50.
Aug. 23
Truck break-in
A woman walked out to her car during work and noticed paperwork spilled across the front seats. Thinking her husband had gone through the truck to find something, she went back to work. When she returned to her car, she noticed that her purse and a court-ordered alcohol sensor were missing from the truck. The woman told deputies that someone must have unlocked her door through her partially opened window. The value of the items was estimated at $1,000.
Slow your roll
A man on Highway 154 drifted out of his lane and into oncoming traffic, heading straight for a deputy’s car. He corrected and the deputy made a U-turn to follow him. The man appeared to yield to the shoulder when the deputy turned on his lights, but the driver continued on the shoulder before finally stopping. He told the deputy that his license had been suspended because he did not pay tickets; he also said that he did not have insurance or registration information with him. The deputy arrested him for unlicensed driving and had his car towed. During a vehicle inventory, the deputy also found an open beer and meth pipe in the car. The man was cited on various charges.
Aug. 22
Wedding crasher
A woman visiting the Valley from New Zealand had her purse stolen from her while she attended a wedding. The woman told a deputy that she had left her purse in a dressing room during a wedding and had returned to find it missing. The purse contained jewelry, collectable coins and some prescription pills, the contents were valued at more than $6,000. The she said she did not want to press charges but only wanted the items returned because they had a sentimental value.
Man steals from sleeping woman
A woman who was at the same wedding returned to her hotel room with a group of friends. She then fell asleep on the bed, and her friends left to get food but propped the door open. The woman woke up to find a strange man pulling on her dress. She told the man to get out but before he left, he snatched something off of the bed. The woman then realized that she was missing her driver’s license and $80 she had tucked in her bra. She said she did not know if the man had been touching her, but her skirt was lifted up above her waist when she awoke.
Domestic blowup
Deputies stopped at a house where they could hear someone yelling inside. They knocked on the door and were met by a man who said he had been in an argument with his girlfriend. In the background, deputies could hear someone sobbing. The man told deputies they were not welcome in the house, but they moved passed him to check on the woman. When they got to the master bedroom, they could see the door had been punched through and was stained with blood. Inside they found the woman, who said the man had grabbed her wrist and showed deputies her bruising. The man was arrested for battery and booked into jail.
What pool party?
Deputies found a man staggering in the driveway of a house, wearing a swimsuit, bruised and with a bloody nose. Deputies were called to the house because someone reported seeing a woman punch the man in the face. The man said he wasn’t punched in the face and must have got the bloody nose from play wrestling with his girlfriend, later he changed his story and said he didn’t have a girlfriend. He told deputies that the house was not his and he was having a pool party with friends but when they investigated the house, no one was home. Deputies arrested the man for public intoxication.
Aug. 21
Drunk might be an understatement
Deputies spotted a man outside of a saloon in Santa Ynez with his pants and underwear around his ankles, hands in the air and making thrusting movements with his hips at a nearby woman. He was intoxicated and told deputies that he was trying to get home. The woman said she wasn’t offended by the man but did not know him. The man told deputies that he would get a cab and go home. Deputies released the man to a cab driver and continued their patrol. Later they saw the same man staggering down Edison. He appeared to be urinating in some bushes and told deputies that he had walked back to the saloon after going home. He was arrested for public intoxication.
No proof
Deputies stopped a woman along Highway 154 because her van had a large crack in the windshield. She told deputies that her license had been suspended for failure to pay fines. She added that her husband had recently paid them off but did not have any proof that her license had been reinstated. Deputies also found medication the woman could not provide a prescription for. She was cited and her car was impounded for 30 days.
Jewelry theft
More than $100 in bracelets was taken from a jewelry store in Solvang. The owner of the store said this was the second time someone had stolen from the store and wanted deputies to document the incident. An employee of the store said several people had been in and out during the day and she did not know who took the jewelry.
Looking for a bathroom
A woman returned home from a walk to find the doors and trunk of her car open, and a strange man standing inside her garage. She said she leaves her garage open when she goes for walks and the man inside told her that he was just looking for a bathroom. The man then walked across the street, got into the passenger seat of a waiting car and drove away. The woman told deputies that nothing was missing from her car or house. She described the suspect as a Hispanic male in his 30s, about 5-foot-8-inches and 180 pounds. The car he left in was a red import, similar to a Honda.
Aug. 20
Saloon throw-down
A fight broke out a saloon in Santa Ynez and ended with one man in jail. A pair of cousins got in an argument about who had purer Native American ancestry. The female cousin threw a drink on the male cousin and he pushed her to the ground. The crowd around the pair jumped on the man and started to attack him before saloon employees hauled him outside. When deputies found him, he appeared very drunk but said he did not need medical attention. They arrested the man for public drunkenness and walked him to a patrol car outside the saloon. As he passed the crowd they cheered and yelled at him, he fired back a barrage of obscenities before being placed inside the car. The man was also found to be in possession of medication without a prescription.
Man “finds” bike, changes serial number
An altered serial number on a bicycle caught the eyes of deputies while they were talking to a man. Someone had darkened the number with permanent maker and changed a one to a seven by engraving another line on the number. Deputies asked the man where he had purchased the bike, and he told them he “found” it but could not remember where. Deputies checked the serial number on the bike and found that it had been reported stolen. They took the bike and forwarded the case to the D.A.
Aug. 19
Pile-up
A long stream of cars was backed up along Mission Drive in Solvang. A large truck heading toward an intersection did not see the stopped cars in time and slammed into the last car in the line, causing a four-car wreck. A deputy spoke to the driver, whose eyes appeared watery. The driver cooperated with deputies and told them he did not see the cars in time and had consumed two beers earlier in the evening. The driver of the car the man hit said he did not hear squealing brakes before the crash and did not know if the man had used his brakes at all. Deputies conducted a DUI test that showed the man’s blood-alcohol level was .113 percent. The man was booked into jail for DUI and later released with a citation.
Break it up
Deputies were called out to a brawl where 30 people were reported fighting in Santa Ynez. By the time they reached the scene, several people had left. Deputies stopped a man who was attempting to leave. The man was disoriented, sweaty and his face was clammy. Deputies asked the man to step out of his car. Inside they found various items associated with “raves” and suspected the man might be under the influence of drugs. The man told deputies that he had used drugs in the past but only had “second-hand exposure” that night. The man provided a urine test that was positive for opiates. He was arrested and booked into jail.
Aug. 18
Missing generator
A woman said someone took a generator from her home; she had offered the generator to a friend and assumed he had taken it, but he said that he never needed it and did not know where it was. The friend told deputies that he knew he could borrow the generator but had never touched it. The woman said she did not suspect her friend had stolen the generator and only wanted a report for insurance purposes.