June 30

Vandalism

A Solvang man on Pine Street contacted deputies about vandalism. He said he’d learned three weeks prior about some minor graffiti damage in the area, and several unknown youth had been seen in the area in the past. Some graffiti tagging was located on a white brick wall and a wood fence. A report was taken.

 

Unlicensed driving

An Oxnard man was pulled over on Highway 246 for having expired license plate tags. He was unable to provide a driver’s license, and the deputy confirmed through dispatch the man did not have one. The vehicle’s registration expired in December 2008. During a search of the car, the deputy found another citation from June 9 from the Oxnard Police Department. The man was arrested for driving without a license and taken to the Lompoc Jail. His car was towed and stored for 30 days.

 

June 29

Trespassing and wanted

A trespasser was detained at the Chumash Casino. When Chumash security approached the Orcutt woman, she took a blue tablet out of her jacket pocket and dropped it on the ground. Security gave the deputy the pill, which turned out to be benzodiazepine, a psychotropic substance. The trespass notice signed in April banned the woman from the casino until July 2. A background check of the woman revealed she was on active probation and had an outstanding warrant for her arrest. She said she had not taken any drugs and the tablet and the jacket she was wearing were both not hers. She was arrested for being under the influence of a controlled substance and taken to the Lompoc Jail.

 

June 28

Eggers

Two juveniles were reportedly throwing eggs onto the open roof of Theaterfest, hitting the stage while a show was being performed. The reporting party told deputies several people in the front row were splattered with egg. She said a similar event occurred a week prior, but she did not report that to the police. Another deputy reported he detained two juveniles matching the description of the egg tossers. The two boys, ages 15 and 13, at first denied any involvement but then admitted they threw the eggs. They also said they threw some eggs at a parked car. During an interview, the boys said they’d been walking by Theaterfest with two dozen eggs intended for cars, when they each decided to throw one egg over the roof. They later egged a car but dropped the eggs when they saw the deputies’ patrol car. Both were cited with public nuisance and released to their parents.

 

June 24

Marijuana in the bra

A deputy pulled a car over on Highway 154 for not having a front or back license plate. The female driver said the license plates were behind her windows, but the window tint was too dark to see them. She said the brackets that hold the license plates on the outside had been damaged. While speaking with the driver, the deputy noticed a smell of marijuana coming from the car. The passenger, a Van Nuys woman, said she had a small amount of marijuana in her bra and a pipe in her bag. The deputy cited the woman for marijuana possession and released both women.

 

Under the influence

Deputies received report of a possible drunk driver parked in a market’s parking lot on Mission Drive. Deputies arrived and observed a woman get money out of a nearby ATM machine and then get into her car. They followed the car as it left the parking lot and watched it swerve and tailgate. The car was pulled over on Highway 246. The driver, a Santa Ynez woman, told deputies she was sorry for tailgating. The car in front of her was too slow, she said, and she was swerving because she’d been looking for items in her purse. Though the woman was not drunk, she did appear to be under the influence of drugs, and she failed several field sobriety tests. She admitted to having several prescriptions to treat various ailments. She said she knew her prescriptions had warning labels against driving. The woman was cited with driving under the influence of drugs and released to her husband.

 

No bicycle

A deputy received information on an intoxicated subject lying on the sidewalk at Mission Drive and Fourth Street in Solvang. The subject, a Solvang man, smelled of alcohol and admitted to having “a couple of drinks.” He had difficulty maintaining balance and answering simple questions. The Solvang man did know where he was but said he rode a bicycle to the location. Deputies could not locate a bicycle. A records check revealed the man had been arrested in the past for other alcohol-related crimes. He was arrested for drunk in public and taken to the Santa Barbara County Jail.

 

June 23

Creeper

A Santa Ynez man called deputies to report a man was following his 16-year-old daughter. When deputies responded to the man’s home, the daughter told them she was walking eastbound on Highway 246 when she noticed a truck drive past her. Later, the same truck came by again, pulled into the center lane, and slowed down. The driver asked if she wanted a ride, to which the girl replied, “No.” He said, “Come on,” and she again said, “No.” The man then pulled his truck over into a nearby parking lot, though he did not get out. The girl said she did not recognize the man. A report was taken.

 

June 21

Backpack full of hash

EMTs were working on a subject at a music festival off Highway 154. The subject had fallen down and was unresponsive. Deputies went through the man’s backpack and discovered a glass marijuana pipe, several empty plastic baggies, several containers of hash and the subject’s high school ID card. The man, from Los Osos, said all the items in the backpack were his and he had a medicinal marijuana card, though deputies could not locate it. He was later transported to the hospital for treatment.

 

Wrong sign

While unloading his patrol car, a deputy heard the sound of someone shooting a paintball gun at a metal sign. He started walking around the parking lot of the Solvang station to investigate the noise. He looked across the Veterans Hall parking lot when he saw “a cloud of paint mist erupt from the back of the “POLICE” sign and saw a man shooting a paintball gun from his second story balcony on Maple Avenue. The deputy went to the suspect’s residence where the man met him. He said he had been playing paintball earlier and was working on his gun. The deputy confiscated the gun as evidence and had photographs taken of the orange paintball splatters on the back of the ‘POLICE’ sign.

 

June 19

Missing laptop

A Solvang woman reported a stolen laptop from her home. She went into her daughter’s room and noticed the daughter’s laptop was missing. An outside entrance to the daughter’s room had been unlocked, and no one had a key to it besides the woman and her daughter. She called her daughter and confirmed the computer was stolen. The suspect left behind a jar of cash and coins and two digital cameras on the desk. A report was taken.