Lompoc man arrested for stolen truck and guns in Vandenberg Village
VANDENBERG VILLAGE, Calif. - Santa Barbara County Sheriff's deputies arrested a man driving a stolen truck in Vandenberg Village Monday morning.
Investigators said a deputy was patrolling an area of the village where there had been a lot of mail thefts recently when the deputy spotted and tried to stop a stolen truck on the 200 block of St. Andrews Way. The driver of the truck crashed into a mailbox and fled, according to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office.
The Sheriff's Office said the truck was stolen from Nipomo on Aug. 16.
As deputies set up a perimeter and began tracking the suspect, they received a call from a jogger in the area who found a handgun and parts of a cell phone in a nearby intersection.
An alert requesting that residents shelter in place was sent out during the search.
Additional resources responded to assist including Sheriff’s K9 units, Lompoc Police and the California Highway Patrol.
After tracking the suspect for over two hours, deputies stopped the suspect around 7:40 a.m. as he was attempting to enter the backyard of a home in the 100-block of Galaxy Way.
A few minutes later, another resident called to report what appeared to be a firearm in the intersection of St. Andrews Way and Clubhouse Road.
Deputies recovered pieces of a second firearm from that area and say they believe it is associated with this incident.
The man was taken to the Main Jail where he was booked for possession of a stolen vehicle (felony), carrying a loaded firearm: not owner (felony), commission of a felony while released on bail (felony), and felon in possession of a firearm (felony).
Deputies authored a request for a bail enhancement due to the suspect already being released on bail for another firearms-related charge. The request was approved and his bail was increased from $35,000 to $100,000.
