April 2
Larceny
A Buellton woman whose expensive purse was stolen found purchases on her debit card account that she didn’t make. She told deputies that she put the $400 purse in her car parked in front of her home on April 1 at 10:30 p.m. and discovered it missing when she left for work the next morning. The purse contained her wallet with several credit cards, a camera, postage stamps, a $500 bracelet and her daughter’s Social Security card. She called her bank to cancel the cards, and learned that her debit card was used at a gas station in Buellton for $54.40. The deputy noted that the station’s surveillance tape had run out of memory. The case was suspended, pending leads.
April 12
Shattered glass
A man told deputies his ex-girlfriend smashed his windshield as payback for a messy separation. At 7:28 p.m. deputies responded to Edison Street where the man, 23, of Solvang, had parked before heading to work at the Chumash Casino. He showed them his shattered windshield and said he believed his ex-girlfriend caused the damage. He said at 5:30 p.m. she confronted and yelled at him at the casino. He noted that she looked “very drunk” and was escorted out of the facility. The deputy called the woman, who admitted she was at the casino at that time to confront the man. She said she was angry at him because he was moving out and took things that “he shouldn’t have.” The woman said after she was asked to leave the casino, she went straight home because her mother was dropping off her son at the residence. She noted that she has been a victim of vandalism and would never do it to someone else’s property. The case was suspended, pending leads.
April 14
Man attacks nurse
A Buellton man was arrested after attacking a male nurse who was examining him for potential alcohol poisoning. At 6:38 p.m. deputies were called the residence of a 58-year-old man who called 911 for help. They knocked on the front door and he let them enter. His speech was slurred and he was “difficult to understand.” He told deputies he consumed 1 liter of Vodka and needed help because he was suicidal. He agreed to be transported to Santa Ynez Valley Cottage Hospital. At 8:10 p.m. the deputies were called to the hospital because of a disturbance involving the man. A nurse said shortly before they arrived, the man starting cursing at the staff and began punching at the nurse, who grabbed the man’s arm to avoid the blows. Because the nurse was in uniform and bore a hospital identification badge, the man was arrested and faces assault charges. The man denied trying to punch the nurse and added, “If I tried to punch him, his ass would still be on the floor.” The man’s behind landed in county jail shortly after.
April 16
Dopey story lands man in jail
A man landed in jail after being caught with 22.5 grams of marijuana. At 12:18 p.m. a deputy heading west on Highway 246 saw a white minivan from the opposite lane swerve into the bike lane. He noticed the vehicle’s registration tag was not clearly visible and stopped the driver. As the deputy obtained the man’s paperwork, he noticed beer bottles in a child’s safety seat behind the driver’s seat. He noted that three passengers, all under 21, were inside the van. The driver said he borrowed the vehicle from his dad to go to the Chumash Casino. The deputy told him he was going to confiscate the alcohol and got consent to search the vehicle. The man admitted he had marijuana in the vehicle. A search of the van yielded a grocery bag of individually packaged marijuana, packing material and a scale. Before the deputy could question him about the marijuana, the driver said, “I don’t sell it or anything” and claimed he liked to separate the marijuana into packages to monitor his use. The deputy arrested him and released the three others. He found several text messages on the man’s phone referring to marijuana drug sales. “He had traveled from his place of residence, Oxnard, to the Chumash Casino (a place with a history of narcotic sales/use), transporting his marijuana for the purpose of sales,” the report read. The man was booked into county jail. The following morning, another deputy using the same patrol car found a bag containing cocaine. It was determined that the patrol car had been checked prior to the man’s arrest. The deputy requested the District Attorney to tack an additional charge against the man.
April 18
No good deed goes unpunished
An off-duty taxi driver told deputies that being a Good Samaritan cost him $414. The man, 62, said he went to a bar and ended up offering a drunken woman a ride home in Solvang. After he dropped her off, he returned to the restaurant and discovered his backpack missing. It contained an envelope with the cash, two red LED bike lights and a key chain with the key to his house. He told deputies the backpack had been in between the two front seats. The deputy advised him to change the locks on his door.
April 19
Break-in
A Solvang business was burglarized overnight by unknown subject(s). An employee arrived at 9 a.m. and found the back office in disarray. The suspects entered the business by breaking a small window in the back. Several tables and chairs were upended and some desk drawers were opened. The deposit bag containing $350 and 50 $1 coins was taken. The two doors of the property were still locked. The deputy learned that the pane of the broken window had recently been replaced with clear “non-security style” glass. No fingerprints were found. The case was forwarded to detectives.
Caught in the act
An allegedly unlocked door attracted unwanted visitors to a business in Solvang. At 6:17 p.m. two deputies responded to a motion alarm. They found the building’s side door unlocked and became more suspicious when they smelled marijuana after entering. As they searched inside, they heard voices from the business changing room area. The deputies announced themselves and four people came out, including two adult females, an adult male and a 10-year-old girl. The two women were wearing dresses that belonged to the business. The deputies asked them what they were doing inside and one of the women said they thought the business was open because the door was unlocked, even though the lights were off and the entrance was locked. The deputies asked about the odor of marijuana, and the man replied that it belonged to him, but added that the two women smoked it. He said it was “a spur of the moment thing.” The women were asked about the dresses, and they both offered to pay for the apparel to “stay out of trouble.” They told the deputy that the young girl was “just watching” and was not involved in any crime. The employee who closed the store said she locked all of the business’s doors. The deputy noted there were fresh pieces of wood on the floor inside the business near the open door, but no sign of forced entry. The deputy contacted the owner, who noted that the business has had numerous issues with vandalism or attempted break-ins. He requested prosecution. The minor was released to her father and the others were booked into county jail.
April 20
Peculiar would-be poacher
At 6 p.m. a deputy responded to a call from a park ranger to assist with a detained would-be poacher. The camp host man told the deputy that he found the man’s vehicle parked near the campground’s locked front gate. He said he searched for the owner and saw turkeys running down the hill into a nearby brush. He also noticed deer looking around with perked ears. He continued up the hill and encountered the man who was crouched in a patch of tall grass. The man stood up and said “hi” before crouching on the ground to search for a compound bow he dropped. The man then got up and walked back to his truck, where the ranger apprehended him. The camp host said he believed the man was stalking turkeys and other potential game; the man told the deputy that he was doing target practice. After the deputy asked him if he had set up any targets, the man said he preferred shooting leaves to sharpen his aim. The man admitted he jumped a gate that was marked restricted. In an apparent attempt to catch a break, he showed the deputy his hunting license, even though turkey season ended two days before. After the deputy said he didn’t buy the man’s story, the guy became silent. The deputy cited him for trespassing but not for poaching, because he hadn’t killed an animal. The deputy confiscated the bow pending an investigation by Fish and Game.
Public intoxication
A 53-year-old homeless man of Santa Barbara was arrested for public intoxication. Just after 2 a.m. a deputy responded to Taco Loco in Buellton on a report of an intoxicated man. The deputy observed the man lying down on the ground, his face covered with his sweatshirt and a chair on top of him. He was unconscious, but awakened with a sternum rub. The man smelled of alcohol and looked disoriented. The man admitted he drank “four loco drinks” and noted that “They will knock you on your ass.” The man had been arrested a week before, after a deputy saw him walking wobbly and stumbling on a sidewalk in Solvang and nearly fell over after the deputy asked to speak with him. He was cited then, but this time he spent the night in the main jail after he was given a medical clearance at the local hospital.
April 23
Man dead after assaulting deputies
A man was shot to death after a confrontation with two Sheriff’s deputies in Orcutt. At 12:19 p.m. the deputies responded to a disturbance in a mobile home complex and were told that a man, wearing only a towel around his waist, had been screaming and behaving erratically. At the trailer park, the deputies were directed by neighbors to a mobile home where the suspect had gone. There they found the man, 53, of San Juan Capistrano, who allegedly began attacking them with a cinder block. During the confrontation, the deputies tried to subdue the man with their Tasers. That didn’t stop the man, who hit a deputy in the head with the object, prompting a deputy to shoot the man – who later died from his injuries. The seriously injured deputy was rushed to Marian Medical Center where he was treated for his injuries and eventually released. The other deputy was not seriously injured. The two deputies were placed on paid administrative leave, a standard procedure during a follow-up investigation.