Man who barricaded from police in Santa Barbara facing attempted rape charges

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - The man who was arrested after barricading inside an apartment for several hours near Santa Barbara's West Beach is now facing attempted rape charges.

The man was arrested on Sunday, April 11. Police said offers initially responded to the 200 block of Ladera Street around 5 a.m. after a 911 caller said a man pointed a handgun at her and sexually assaulted her.

The victim said she was able to flee the area before calling police.

When officers arrived, the man ran into an apartment on Ladera Street and barricaded himself inside. Believing the man still had a gun, police quickly evacuated nearby apartments in the complex and established a shelter-in-place order for surrounding homes.

After officers were unsuccessful in contacting the man, Santa Barbara Police SWAT and Crisis Negotiation teams were called to help de-escalate the situation. Detectives also responded to the scene to investigate and obtain a warrant for the man's arrest. This is when officers learned that there were two other people trapped in the apartment with the man, one of which was a child.

After roughly four hours of negotiations, the man finally agreed to surrender and he was arrested without incident.

Three replica handguns were discovered inside the apartment. Police explained these imitation firearms greatly resemble actual firearms and are nearly impossible to determine as replicas based on appearance alone. 

The man has since been booked at the Santa Barbara County Jail facing charges for attempted rape, false imprisonment, brandishing an imitation firearm and resisting/obstructing arrest. He is being held on a $100,000 bail.

Fortunately, no injuries were reported during these incidents.