John Harris Rios

Eighteen-year-old Carpinteria resident John Rios was arrested Saturday for allegedly intimidating a witness who saw him riding his motorcycle inside Skater’s Point Skate Park on Sunday, July 21.

After tooling around on his small off-road bike in the city skate park and on nearby sidewalks and parking lots — parts of the joy ride were caught on tape — Rios loaded his motorcycle onto his truck, which was parked nearby on Cabrillo Boulevard. As the witness wrote down the truck’s license plate number, Rios threatened him or her, according to the police report.

Four days later, SBPD Officer Jaycee Hunter obtained a search warrant for Rios’s residence and a $50,000 felony arrest warrant. Rios was served and arrested around 9 a.m. two days later. In addition to attempting to prevent a witness from reporting a crime, Rios is charged with reckless driving and use of unauthorized equipment in a skateboard facility.

According to the report, Rios admitted to illegally riding his motorcycle in and around the skate park, but he denied threatening the witnesses. He was booked into Santa Barbara County Jail.

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