Police Blotter

August 16, 4 p.m. — Using surveillance video, authorities tracked down a man suspected of starting a fire in a dumpster behind JJ’s Liquor & Deli, 311 Castillo St. On July 30, firefighters responded to the liquor store to extinguish a blaze in the dumpster. Detectives determined an open flame device had been used to spark the flames.

The following day, authorities examined surveillance footage from the store and saw a man riding his bike away from the dumpster within a minute of the fire blazing to life.
On August 13, an employee at the liquor store spotted the suspect and learned he works on a boat in the harbor. Police caught up with the suspect on Stearns Wharf.
The 39-year-old Santa Barbara man willingly went to the police station, where he later admitted to using a lighter to start the fire in the dumpster. Authorities booked him in lieu of $75,000 bail for arson.

August 18, 12:37 a.m. — An apparent victim of a domestic dispute found herself in the backseat of a squad car after becoming combative with police. Authorities responded to the 100 block of Calle Alamo and found the woman in an alley. As they attempted to interview the 35-year-old Lompoc resident, she became angry. Officers were forced to handcuff the woman and use a leg restraint.
As she sat on the ground, the woman rolled onto her back and began directing kicks toward an officer’s leg and groin. She had just left a bar and smelled strongly of alcohol, had watery, red eyes, and was speaking incoherently. The woman admitted someone had pushed her, but would not identify the suspect or cooperate with medics.
After determining the woman could not care for her own safety, officers booked the woman for battery and public intoxication.

August 18, 1:20 a.m. — Police received reports of a woman in the first block of E. Victoria Street yelling and causing a disturbance in the apartment complex where she resides. A resident and the apartment manager signed a citizen’s arrest for disturbing the peace, telling officers she had been yelling in the hallways and would likely become loud again once police left.
A handful of residents told police they were unable to sleep due to her shouting. They reported the yelling began at 8:30 p.m. and lasted approximately two hours. She began screaming again at 1 a.m., witnesses said, and the suspect was yelling at police when the arresting officer arrived. Authorities booked the 45-year-old woman in lieu of $2,500.

August 19, 6 p.m. — Authorities arrested a man after he violated a protective restraining order for the second time, hours after being released from jail. The 36-year-old suspect reportedly got out of jail at noon and called the victim, who reminded him that she had a restraining order and told him to stay away from her and her home.
The protective order, in effect through 2011, states the suspect must remain at least 100 yards away.
Officers responded to the victim’s home — she was out of town at the time — and found the suspect inside, drinking alcohol. Authorities arrested and booked the man in lieu of $10,000 bail for his second violation of a protective order.