Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office apprehend suspect after high-speed chase

SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif. -- Santa Barbara County Sheriff's deputies arrested a Goleta man on Friday night after a nearly 2-hour pursuit involving a high-speed chase along northbound Highway 101.

It began around 2:30 p.m. on Friday when the Sheriff's Office dispatched deputies to the 1000-block of Via Regina in Santa Barbara to investigate a car suspected of a possible drug exchange.

The deputies contacted a male driver and a female passenger inside a black Jeep Cherokee, according to the County Sheriff's Office.

The Sheriff's Office said the driver then provided the deputies with a false name, and when he was asked to exit the vehicle he drove away from the traffic stop, starting the vehicle pursuit.

Deputies chased the Jeep Cherokee onto northbound Highway 101 until they terminated the pursuit near El Capitan on account of public safety. The Sheriff's Office notified California Highway Patrol of the wanted vehicle.

After terminating the pursuit, deputies identified the driver as a 33-year-old resident in Goleta who had outstanding warrants for his arrest.

CHP initiated a traffic stop near Highway 101 and Highway 1, and the suspect failed to pull over. CHP then pursued him towards the city of Lompoc, and County Air Support arrived overhead.

As the chase approached Ocean Avenue, CHP decided to terminate the pursuit in the interest of safety.

County Air Support tracked the Jeep Cherokee through Lompoc as the Sheriff's Office reports the suspect drove recklessly, sometimes driving on the wrong side of the road and running red lights until he stopped at the north end of Riverbend Park.

The suspect and the woman in the passenger seat left the Jeep Cherokee and forced the driver of a silver Honda Accord out of their vehicle and drove away with it.

Deputies then caught up to the Honda in the lower parking lot of Riverbend Park, and a deputy intentionally rammed the Honda which was traveling at low speeds in the parking lot.

After stopping the Honda, deputies took the suspect into custody around 5:22 p.m. and booked him at the Main Jail with charges and bail amounts pending.

The Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office reports no significant injuries to the carjacking victim, deputies, the suspect or his passenger. They determined the suspect's passenger to be an unwilling participant and a potential victim of kidnapping, and her identity is not available for release.

For more information on the County Sheriff's Office, click here.