Santa Maria residents arrested after nearly crashing into police officer

Two Santa Maria men are facing a slew of charges including assault with a deadly weapon against a police officer stemming from a robbery incident in San Luis Obispo on February 1.

Antonio Tanner-Galvan Jr., 24, and Alberto Macias Jr., 22, were arrested on Feb. 2 when Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Detectives working with SLO police detectives located the two men as they were driving in Santa Maria.

Investigators with the San Luis Obispo Police Department say that on Feb. 1, just before 2 a.m., SLO police received a call from a witness reporting a U-Haul passenger that had exited the truck and took items from a parked car in the 2900 bock of Augusta Street after smashing the car’s windows.

When officers attempted to stop the U-Haul’s driver and passenger, the U-Haul accelerated and drove directly towards an officer’s driver’s door. The officer was able to dodge the truck. The U-Haul crashed into a parked car adjacent to the officer’s patrol car.

The U-Haul was located a short distance away but the suspects were gone. Police discovered stolen property inside the U-Haul from other recent car burglaries, along with a stolen motorcycle. Documents and fingerprints discovered in the truck helped investigators identify Tanner-Galvan and Macias as the primary suspects.

SLO police say Tanner-Galvan is a suspect in 10 other stolen vehicle investigations being investigated by the SLO Police Department.

Authorities are working to determine if Tanner-Galvan and Macias are related to the series of window smash burglaries reported along the Los Osos Valley Road corridor in recent weeks.

Both men were booked into San Luis Obispo County Jail on the following charges:

245(c) PC – Assault with a Deadly Weapon on a Peace Officer 459 PC – Burglary, 2nd degree 30305(a)(1) PC – Felon in Possession of Ammunition 2800.2(a) VC – Evading a Police Officer in a Reckless Manner 20002(a)(1) VC – Hit and Run, Property Damage only 594(b)(1) PC – Vandalism, Property Damage over $400

Additionally, Macias was booked for Possession of Burglary Tools. Bail for both suspects was set at $70,000.

Investigators ask anyone with information related to either suspects or this incident, to call the SLO Police Department at 805-781-7312.