Santa Barbara Police Arrest Convicted Felon Found Trespassing on La Colina Junior High Campus, Approaching Students
Suspect Booked on Felony Charges of Threatening Crime with Intent to Terrorize and Possessing Weapon Near School, Among Other Counts
Just three days into the new school year, an “unauthorized adult” trespassed onto the La Colina Junior High campus and was arrested on Wednesday, according to a message sent out to parents by the Santa Barbara Unified School District.
In the message addressed to La Colina families, the district reported that at approximately 7:40 a.m., the man approached two students and “spoke with them in a suspicious manner.”
“Fortunately, our administration and campus supervision staff intervened quickly, escorting the adult off campus and notifying law enforcement,” the message said. “Our staff was able to identify the unauthorized adult and provide this information to law enforcement.”
Later, the same man approached an additional two students in the neighborhood near La Colina, somewhere around Primavera Road and Verano Drive. Santa Barbara police intervened, and the man is now in custody.
According to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office arrest log, the suspect is Teon Tondale West, 31. He was booked at around 6:30 p.m. on multiple counts, including felony charges of threatening a crime with intent to terrorize and possessing a weapon near a school, as well as misdemeanor charges of loitering, disrupting school activities, fighting in a public place, and annoying a victim under 18.
West is being held at the Santa Barbara County Jail on a $50,000 bail.
This is not West’s first run-in with Santa Barbara law enforcement. His extensive criminal history, dating back to 2015, includes a drug conviction in connection to a 20-person drug and weapons bust by undercover officers in 2016, felony robbery, and various other drug-related offenses.
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