A Lompoc man was arrested and charged with attempted murder on November 8 after allegedly firing multiple rounds into a Buellton residence and fleeing to the Lompoc Home Depot in his truck, according to a press release from the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office. No injuries were reported.
Deputies responded to a disturbance at Valley Station Drive in downtown Buellton at 8:55 p.m. on Friday, where they were informed that Sergio Martin Lopez Hernandez, 35, allegedly “yelled obscenities at the victim” before drawing a firearm from his waistband and firing shots into the residence. Lopez Hernandez was known to the male victim, whose identity has not been released.
The suspect allegedly “[drove] away at a high rate of speed,” and a be-on-the-lookout alert for the suspect’s Ford F150 was broadcast to law enforcement in the area. The truck was spotted by California Highway Patrol in the Lompoc Home Depot parking lot at 9:10 p.m., and the suspect was soon apprehended by deputies. A loaded firearm with the serial number scratched off was found in the suspect’s vehicle.
Lopez Hernandez was booked at the Northern Branch Jail for felony charges of attempted murder, altering identifying marks on a firearm, and shooting at an inhabited dwelling, as well as misdemeanor counts of driving under the influence and carrying a loaded firearm in public. He is being held on $1 million bail.
