Since at least February 2017, Brent Thomas Lingiardi, now 19, has stolen cash and merchandise from Santa Barbara businesses. Last year, he robbed the Coffee Bean on State and De la Vina, as well as the Chevron gas station on Coast Village Road. Twice, he’s robbed the Blenders in the Grass located in the Five Points shopping center.
Last Monday, with a disguised face and a bat, he robbed the Coffee Bean on State and De la Vina for the second time, taking an entire cash drawer with him. He struck again the next day, September 11, at Blenders in the Grass on the Mesa. Lingiardi’s crime spree finally came to an end on September 13, when he was taken into custody by the Santa Barbara Police Department through an anonymous tipster.
Under questioning, Lingiardi confessed to seven robberies. According to authorities, Lingiardi provided intricate details of his crimes; a search warrant on his residence produced further evidence of the robberies. He is currently in Santa Barbara County Jail awaiting seven felony convictions.
