Santa Barbara Crime Blotter, 3/12 – 3/18
Good Samaritan Helps Stop Theft; Taxi Driver Drops Off Drunk Customers at Police Station
3/13; 3:50 p.m.; 1034 Bath Street: Police went to a witness’s residence to return her MicroSD digital camera card that had information about a case they were investigating. Police were invited into the house where they noticed a baggie of white crystal substance they believed to be methamphetamine on the woman’s air hockey table. The woman claimed that the baggie wasn’t hers, that a client of her high-priced “companion” service may have left it there. She was arrested for possession.
3/14; 6:29 p.m.; 415 De la Guerra Street: Two men tried to take beer from a grocery store without paying. When the clerk told them to stop, both men “turned back, stopped, and one of them blew a kiss.” Another customer helped the store’s general manager prevent the men from leaving before police arrived.
3/15; 2:31 p.m.; 600 State Street: A homeless man flagged down officers and told them that he “wasn’t feeling well” and asked for a ride to the hospital. The officers agreed but asked the man if they could search him first. The man consented to the search, and officers found a small bag of methamphetamine in the man’s pocket.
3/17; 10:16 p.m.; 500 Anacapa Street: Police witnessed a homeless woman strike a homeless man. The two transients admitted to being in a romantic relationship and that they had been “sleeping together wherever they find a place to camp.” Police charged the woman with domestic battery.
3/17; 1:12 a.m.; 215 West Figueroa Street: A taxi driver took two of his customers to the police station because one was passed out and the other was too intoxicated to provide him with an address to drive to.
3/18; 12:27 a.m.; 1700 Castillo Street: A woman was walking home on West Valerio street when a man allegedly appeared from behind a tree with his genitals exposed and yelled: “Hey baby! Come here!” The woman ran into her home and called 911. The suspect was tracked down by officers on Castillo Street.