Felon tries to evade Santa Barbara police by jumping into ocean after violent attack
A woman is recovering from facial lacerations and several broken bones after being attacked at the Santa Barbara Amtrak station on State Street.
The assault happened at 3:30 a.m. July 11, 2018. The Santa Barbara Police Department says the woman, who appears to be a transient, did not want to cooperate with officers but that witnesses to the attack led officers to 35-year-old Casey Michael Lewis, identified as the suspect in this case.
Authorities say some of the witnesses chased Lewis after he kicked the victim repeatedly to the point of her losing consciousness. Things began taking a bizarre turn after Lewis ran away to the Stearns Wharf area and jumped into the ocean, police say.
“Lewis swam around Fool’s Anchorage, a boat mooring location just east of the wharf, for approximately an hour before finally complying with instructions to board one of the boats,” said a news release from the Santa Barbara Police Department.
The Santa Barbara Harbor Patrol used two boats to locate and surround Lewis who was on parole from an earlier robbery conviction, according to authorities.
Lewis was booked into Santa Barbara County Jail for felony assault with a deadly weapon, felony battery resulting in great bodily injury, and violation of his parole terms.
