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Burglary spree suspect arrested COURTESY PHOTOThis Toyota sedan was found crashed into a tree Monday afternoon on West De la Guerra Street in Santa Barbara.
SANTA BARBARA — Miguel Ascencio Torres, 33, of Santa Barbara was arrested Tuesday by Santa Barbara police on suspicion of crimes including the theft of a car.
He was transported and booked at the Santa Barbara County Main Jail on suspicion of multiple felony counts of residential burglary, felony stolen vehicle and misdemeanor hit and run. Bail is set at $500,000.
This week, the Santa Barbara Police Department received four reported residential burglaries occurring in the city of Santa Barbara in less than 24 hours. Officers responded to these burglaries to investigate further. The initial investigations led officers to believe that the same suspect had committed all four burglaries. Information was provided through eyewitness descriptions, physical evidence, video surveillance and cell phone photos supplied by witnesses, said Sgt. Ethan Ragsdale, the police department’s public information officer.
At around 8 p.m. Monday, police officers were dispatched with lights and sirens to a residence in the 1300 block of Sycamore Canyon Road for a reported burglary in progress, Sgt. Ragsdale said.
When officers arrived, they discovered the suspect had already fled the area, Sgt. Ragsdale said. The suspect was not located after officers searched the neighborhood and surrounding area.
At approximately 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, the Santa Barbara Police Combined Communications Center received another report from a neighbor who observed a suspicious individual matching the description from the first residential burglary breaking into the same house on the 1300 block of Sycamore Canyon Road, Sgt. Ragsdale said.
While the suspect was allegedly exiting the victim’s home with numerous stolen items, the neighbor confronted the suspect. Sgt. Ragsdale said a physical altercation occurred between the neighbor and the suspect. The suspect broke free of the neighbor’s grasp, dropping the stolen items and fled the area once again.
Around 1:10 p.m. Tuesday, another burglary was reported in the first block of Oak Street. The victim of this burglary also reported that the suspect had stolen a key to their vehicle and fled in the now-stolen vehicle prior to police arrival.
At 1:30 p.m., a witness reported a hit and run traffic collision in the 500 block of West De La Guerra Street. The witness informed police the suspect driver had crashed a Toyota sedan into a tree and fled on foot.
The witness provided the license plate of the vehicle to the dispatcher, who confirmed it was the same stolen vehicle taken approximately 20 minutes before from the home on Oak Street, Sgt. Ragsdale said.
While officers searched the westside area for the suspect, a neighbor reported seeing a suspicious subject breaking into a home in the 300 block of West Micheltorena Street. The description provided by the neighbor matched that of the suspect from the other burglaries. Officers and a police K-9 surrounded the house. Officers could see the suspect through windows and gave verbal commands to exit the home. The suspect complied and was arrested without incident.
— Katherine Zehnder
5-year-old allegedly left unattended; mother arrested COURTESY PHOTOSanta Barbara police reported finding this “ghost gun” in a residence when officers arrested a Mammoth Lakes woman on suspicion of child endangerment.SANTA BARBARA — Officers from the Santa Barbara Police Department arrested Lauren Tracy, 46, of Mammoth Lakes on suspicion of child endangerment after she allegedly left her 5-year-old child unattended for 24 hours.
The arrest occurred at a residence in the 1100 block of Cliff Drive around 8:30 p.m. Saturday.
The Santa Barbara Police Combined Communications Center received a call about the childhood endangerment case around 7 p.m. Saturday. Officers responded to a residence in the 800 block of Highland Drive to investigate.
Officers arrived and contacted the reporting party, a babysitter who had arrived at the residence to look after a 5-year-old child.
When the babysitter arrived, the child was found alone and unattended in the home, Sgt. Ethan Ragsdale, the police department’s public information officer, said in a news release. He said the mother was nowhere to be found.
Sgt. Ragsdale said the babysitter also observed a “ghost gun” handgun with ammunition on the kitchen counter and another “ghost gun” in the bedroom. Both guns were easily accessible to the child, Sgt. Ragsdale said.
The babysitter immediately contacted 9-1-1 to report this unusual incident. When officers arrived, they learned the babysitter was hired through a childcare website. The babysitter expected to meet the child’s guardian and was extremely surprised to find the child unattended upon arrival, Sgt. Ragsdale said.
Sgt. Ragsdale said officers learned that the child had been left unattended for over 24 hours in the home without food. Detectives were notified and assisted with the case by obtaining a search warrant from a judge.
Officers were able to obtain information regarding the mother’s current location. When located, the mother was intoxicated and placed under arrest, Sgt. Ragsdale said.
Ms. Tracy was the only family member in town, and no other adults were with the child. Child Protective Services responded to care for the five-year-old. Ms. Tracy was booked in the Santa Barbara County Jail on multiple felonies; child endangerment, possession of undetectable “ghost guns,” possession of a firearm with a prior misdemeanor conviction, unlawful possession of ammunition, child neglect, and criminal storage of a firearm. Her bail was set at $100,000.
—Katherine Zehnder
Attempted burglar arrestedSANTA MARIA — Santa Barbara County sheriff’s deputies have arrested a suspect for attempted burglary and recovered stolen property.
On Monday, at approximately 4:12 a.m., deputies responded to the 5700 block of Calle De La Rosa in Santa Maria to investigate a report of suspicious subjects trying to open windows and doors of residences.
When deputies arrived, they contactedAdrian Buelna, 18, of Santa Maria near the intersection of Calle De La Rosa and Alderwood Lane. After a short foot pursuit, Mr. Buelna was taken into custody, said Raquel Zick, the Sheriff’s Office public information officer.
Deputies and a K9 unit searched the area for additional suspects but were unable to locate them.
Ms. Zick said deputies found Mr. Buelna was in possession of suspected stolen property that likely came from vehicles or residences in the area. The Sheriff’s Office would like to encourage anyone with unreported stolen property to file a report using its online reporting system, or by calling our non-emergency line at 805-683-2724.
Mr. Buelna was booked at the Northern Branch Jail for obstruction (misdemeanor), attempted burglary (felony), and conspiracy (felony). He is being held on $50,000 bail.
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