Suspect arrested for four Santa Barbara burglaries in less than 24 hours

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – A Santa Barbara man suspected of involvement in a string of four burglaries in less than 24 hours was arrested on Tuesday, according to the Santa Barbara Police Department.

"The Santa Barbara Police Department received four reported residential burglaries occurring in the city of Santa Barbara in less than 24 hours," said Sgt. Ethan Ragsdale. "Officers responded to these burglaries to investigate further. The initial investigations led officers to believe that the same suspect had committed all four burglaries."

Officers were first dispatched to a home on the 1300 block of Sycamore Canyon Road around 8 p.m. for a reported burglary in progress, according to Sgt. Ethan Ragsdale. However, when officers arrived, they discovered the suspect, a 33-year-old Santa Barbara man, had already fled the area and they were not able to locate him after searching the neighborhood and surrounding area.

News Channel 3-12 had a crew respond to the burglary and spoke to the neighbor witness.

"I just saw somebody inside that property and I didn't know who it was. I know it wasn't the owner. He was being very suspicious and he was going around the car, trying to break in," Martha Aguilera told News Channel 3-12 on Monday night.

"I saw the gate going in-and-out, in-and-out...the officer came they couldn't open the gate."

Then, on Tuesday morning around 8:30 a.m., officers received another report from a neighbor who observed a "suspicious individual" matching the description from the first burglary breaking into the same Sycamore Canyon Road home, Ragsdale said.

While the suspect was leaving the victim's home with multiple stolen items, the neighbor confronted him and the two got into a "physical altercation," according to Ragsdale, who said the suspect broke free, dropped the stolen items, and fled the area once again.

Another burglary was reported on the first block of Oak Street around 1:10 p.m. on Tuesday, and the victim of the burglary reported that the suspect had a stolen key to their car and fled in the now-stolen vehicle before officers arrived.

About 20 minutes later, at 1:30 p.m., a witness reported a hit-and-run accident on the 500 block of West De La Guerra Street, Ragsdale said.

The witness told police that the suspect driver had crashed a Toyota sedan into a tree and then fled on foot. The witness got the license plate number, and it was confirmed to be the same stolen vehicle taken from the Oak Street home.

While officers were searching the Westside area for the suspect, a neighbor reported seeing a suspicious subject breaking into a home on the 300 block of West Micheltorena Street, and the description provided matched that of the suspect from the previous burglaries.

Officers and a K9 surrounded the house and could see the suspect through the windows. He complied with verbal commands to come out of the home and was arrested without incident.

He was booked at the Santa Barbara County Main Jail for multiple felony counts and a misdemeanor hit-and-run. His bail is set at $500,000.