Police arrest hit-and-run suspect, bar vandal

DAILY SOUND STAFF REPORT

Santa Barbara police tracked down a hit-and-run suspect after discovering his cell phone at the scene of the accident on Friday. On Sunday, they handled an unruly bar patron caught vandalizing the interior and exterior of a State Street watering hole.

March 14, 12:16 p.m. — Police arrived at the intersection of Garden and Victoria streets after receiving reports of a hit-and-run vehicle collision. Witnesses reported seeing the suspect pull to the curb following the accident and pick up the bumper and license plate that fell off his car before fleeing the scene. One witness attempted to follow the suspect but lost the vehicle, described as a silver PT Cruiser or Chevy HHR, after it pulled onto northbound Highway 101. Police retrieved a cell phone from the street as well as a description of the suspect from witnesses. The driver of the other vehicle reported pain in her right wrist that started radiating up her arm and making her dizzy. She received treatment from paramedics.
As officers continued to investigate the scene, the cell phone found in the street started to ring repeatedly. Witnesses identified the man pictured in the phone’s background photo as the hit-and-run suspect. When police answered the ringing phone, the caller offered a $75 reward and set up a place to meet and retrieve his missing property.
After arriving at the proposed meeting place and spotting the caller, who matched the description given by witnesses and the phone background, police questioned him about the incident. The 27-year-old man denied having identification or a driver’s license, stating he did not drive, did not own a car, and was not recently involved in a collision.
However, he did provide his home address, where police found a 2008 silver Chevy HHR with moderate front-end damage, a deployed driver-side airbag, and the vehicle’s bumper and license plate in the trunk. At that point, the suspect invoked his right to an attorney before admitting he had committed a hit-and-run.
A background check revealed an extensive history of DUI-related arrests that had resulted in the suspension of his license. Further investigation of the accident revealed he had failed to obey the stop sign at the intersection, causing the crash. Officers arrested the man for hit-and-run causing injuries and driving on a suspended license, booking him into jail on $50,000 bail.

March 16, 1:10 a.m. — Officers on patrol along the 400 block of State Street watched as a man etched letters into the glass window of a bar. After detaining the man, determined to be a 22-year-old Ventura resident, police contacted the owner of the bar. The owner told officers that security had ejected the man moments earlier after spotting him tagging walls inside the bar. Once outside, he began urinating on the wall of the building, despite the owner’s protests. Police arrested the young man on charges of vandalism and public urination.