POLICE
BLOTTER
June 18
Forgot about that?
A 31-year-old Santa Maria woman, a passenger in a car
stopped for a traffic violation was found to have a warrant out for her arrest.
After a cursory search in the field and being asked if she had any contraband
on her person and answering “no,” the woman was booked into Santa Barbara
County Jail. During a more through search at the jail the woman was found with
a small glass marijuana smoking pipe and less than an ounce of marijuana in her
underwear. She was charged with bringing paraphernalia and marijuana into a
jail.
June 18
Daughter doesn’t like riding with
drunken dad
A 30-year-old man with a Lompoc address was stopped by
deputies in Buellton for exceeding the 35 mph speed limit by 20 miles per hour.
Deputies noticed objective signs of intoxication and had the man perform field
sobriety tests, which he failed. After the man was placed into custody, his
12-year-old daughter, who was in the car, told deputies that she was “scared”
as her father was driving really fast, up to 100 miles per hour according to
the daughter. The man was booked on suspicion of DUI and for child
endangerment.
June 17
No license, no insurance, bye car
A 36-year-old man claiming an Anaheim address was stopped
after he rolled through a stop sign at Alisal Road and Viborg Road in Solvang.
The man was unable to communicate in English so a deputy was called to
translate. The man claimed he has lived in California for more than a year but
did not have a driver license. The car was registered in a friend’s name, but
the friend had sold it to him. He had no proof of that. He also could not
provide proof of insurance. The man was cited and the car was towed.
June 16
Arson at school
Deputies took a report of two small arson fires at a
charter school on the 3500 block of Pine Street in Santa Ynez. The school
director reported that she had discovered the damage early Monday morning and
that a cork bulletin board and a plastic container were set on fire. Damage was
estimated at $500.
June 16
School graffiti
The principal of Santa Ynez Elementary School reported
that someone had vandalized the school with spraypainted graffiti over the
weekend. Three school buildings were “tagged” and a green-and-white sport
jersey was burned on a playground picnic bench.
June 15
Drunk without class
A 23-year-old Santa Ynez man caught the attention of
deputies as he was leaving a Santa Ynez tavern at 1:44 a.m. The man was yelling
obscenities at another group as his friends were trying to restrain him from
fighting. The man tried to walk away from deputies and upon contact deputies
recognized the “very strong smell” of alcohol. The man was uncooperative and
highly agitated according to deputies. After being placed in the patrol vehicle
the man told deputies “I’m pissed off, angry and have been drinking a lot.”
June 14
Too drunk to swim
Deputies were called to Lake Cachuma by rangers who had
taken a 22-year-old North Hollywood man into custody for public intoxication.
The rangers had watched as the man was swimming about 100 feet off shore
(swimming in Lake Cachuma is prohibited). The rangers told the man to get out
of the water whereupon he got into a rental boat and came back to the dock.
Deputies contacted the man as he was walking back from the boat and the man
said he was too drunk to drive. The man was taken into custody for his own
protection and cited for public intoxication.
June 12
Modified exhaust, no license
A 27-year-old Santa Maria man was followed by sheriff’s
patrol deputies out of Los Olivos to Los Alamos where the man was pulled over
for having a faulty muffler. The man could not produce a driver license and was
cited. The man said he could only provide a Mexico driver license and had lived
in Santa Maria for the last three years.
June 12
Lack of restraint
A 30-year-old woman with a Santa Ynez address was
observed by sheriff’s deputies operating a motor vehicle without using her
seatbelt. When pulled over the woman’s 4-year-old child was on the passenger
seat without a seatbelt and a functioning child seat was in the back seat. The
woman stated that the 4-year-old did not want to sit in the child seat so she
allowed the child to sit unrestrained in the front passenger seat. The woman
could not produce a valid driver license as she said her license had been
suspended. The car was owned by another person who was able to come to the
scene and take possession. The woman was cited.
June 12
Prowlers reported
A man living in a condo in the 500 block of Amber Way
called 911 after observing two juveniles climbing onto the balcony of his unit.
Upon seeing the man the juveniles apologized saying they knew someone who used
live there. The youths then left and walked toward Solvang School on foot.
Deputies questioned two youths found in the area that matched the general
description of the suspects but determined that the two had nothing to do with
the incident.
June 12
Drunk driver just forgot to appear
A 35-year-old Buellton man was arrested by deputies after
being observed recklessly driving his pickup truck. Deputies attempted to have
the man perform field sobriety tests but he was unable to perform any due to
his state of intoxication. A records check revealed that the man had a
suspended and revoked driver license for a prior failure to appear on a DUI.
June 11
Expensive paint job
The owners of a Porsche sports car reported that their
car had been “keyed” with deep scratches all around the vehicle. The owners of
the car had stopped at Nielsen’s Shopping Center in Solvang and entered a
coffee shop for only a few minutes. When they came out the passenger noticed
the car had been vandalized. Deputies estimated damages to the expensive paint
job would be in excess of $5,000. They took a report.
June 11
Cut phone lines
A Santa Ynez woman reported that her phone lines were cut
during the weekend and she suspected her estranged husband. The woman said a
number of “strange” things happened over the last couple of years after
separating from her husband, at her ranch in the 4300-block of Baseline Ave.,
including missing fuel lines on her tractor, an oil pan plug removed from her
lawn mower, and subscriptions for dozens of magazines she never subscribed to.
Deputies questioned the soon to be ex-husband, who did not admit to committing
the crimes but said he “knew” who cut the phone lines. Deputies suspended the
investigation without an admission of guilt or additional evidence.
June 11
Vandals break windows
A Santa Ynez resident reported that the windows in two
cars parked at a residence in the 3200-block of Baseline Ave. were smashed
while he was at work. There were no witnesses and there are no suspects at this
time.
June 9
Health center vandalized
A health center on Via Juana in Santa Ynez suffered minor
damage when vandals smeared food on the exterior walls of the building. Damage
quickly was cleaned and repaired.
June 7
More school graffiti
Deputies responded to Santa Ynez Elementary School after
a call from a person reporting several instances of “tagging” and graffiti.
Upon arriving at the school deputies found a number of surfaces defaced. A can
of spraypaint was found with a fingerprint. The sheriff’s department is
investigating.
June 4
Stolen checks, Forgery
A 60-year-old Solvang man reported that his bank
statement showed a number of checks cashed on his account that he didn’t write.
The man told deputies that the checkbook was normally kept on his dresser and
he didn’t know how someone had gotten possession of his checks. Bank security
had photographs and evidence of the checks being cashed by a person already
suspect in other forgeries and on current parole for a burglary out of the
Ventura/Oxnard area. A 30-year-old Camarillo man, a 26-year-old Camarillo
woman, and a 29-year-old Oxnard man are being sought.