Police apprehend nude home invader

BY ERIC LINDBERG
DAILY SOUND STAFF WRITER

Santa Barbara police arrested a local man after he allegedly broke into an apartment, took off his clothes and threatened to kill the family that had been sleeping inside before leaving, breaking into another apartment and taking hostages.
A young family, with children aged 7 and 9, had been sleeping in a home in the 300 block of Ladera Street when the suspect, later identified as Phillip Kenneth Matovich, 26, allegedly forced entry at approximately 6:30 a.m. on Saturday, Sgt. Dave Gonzalez said.

“The family was woken up by this guy breaking into the house,” he said.
The couple told police Matovich began shouting incoherently while they were still in bed before he removed his clothing and said he planned to kill them and their children.
“The suspect then ran into the kitchen and tried to grab a knife from the knife block,” Sgt. Gonzalez said.
The couple struggled with the intruder, attempting to keep him from removing the knife, he said. Matovich, unable to retrieve the weapon, ran from the residence still nude, Sgt. Gonzalez said, at which point the victims called police.
As they arrived on the scene, officers set up a one-block perimeter and began searching for the burglar. Witnesses reported seeing a naked man jumping fences in the neighborhood.
Down the street from the burglarized apartment, Officer Tyler Larson noticed a window screen from another apartment had been torn off and tossed on the ground. He knocked on the door and a young man answered.
“He did his best to make gestures with his eyes and face to indicate something was going on in the house,” Sgt. Gonzalez said.
Larson asked the resident if the suspect was in the home and he whispered back that his girlfriend was being held hostage in the bedroom.
The couple later told police Matovich had apparently entered through the open window as the slept and grabbed a large knife from the kitchen before bursting into their bedroom.
“He knew the police were looking for him and said he was going to hold them hostage,” Sgt. Gonzalez said.
As he led them through the home at knifepoint, he allegedly threatened to kill them if they did not cooperate, authorities said. Matovich reportedly told the young man if the police showed up, he should not alert them or he would stab and kill his girlfriend.
As they waited in the bedroom, Sgt. Gonzalez said the young couple managed to calm down the suspect enough that he agreed to put the knife on the floor.
Then Larson knocked on the door. Once informed that a hostage had been taken, the officer raced to the bedroom, where he found Matovich allegedly holding the woman in a chokehold.
As Larson approached, the suspect began to choke the woman and attempted to use her as a human shield, Sgt. Gonzalez said. Noting Matovich’s hands were free of weapons, Larson drew his Taser and aimed it at the suspect’s exposed abdomen.
As he fired the weapon, the electrical jolt allowed the woman to escape Matovich’s grasp, Sgt. Gonzalez said, at which point Larson took the suspect into custody.
“He got him right in the gut with the Taser,” Sgt. Gonzalez said. “…At that range, they are very accurate.”
Authorities booked Matovich into jail for attempted murder, burglary, kidnapping, taking a hostage, false imprisonment, making terrorist threats and brandishing a weapon. Sgt. Gonzalez said authorities have had several incidents involving Matovich in the past year, but nothing quite as serious.
“It was a really good case and a really good job by the officer taking action knowing that someone’s life was in danger,” he said. “If he hadn’t shown up, who knows what would have happened.”