Robbery Suspect Caught by Carpinterians

Carpinteria police were called to the corner of Elm and 5th Street on Monday morning, where officers found Jose Romero pinned to the ground by several citizens. Romero was accused of robbing a liquor store on the 500 block of Linden Avenue with an accomplice, sniffed out by a K9 team to be hiding in the backseat of a car at a nearby set of apartments. An air-powered pellet gun, said to belong to Romero, was found in a yard. The second suspect is Denis Gutierrez, 25, of Carpinteria. Romero, 25, of Ventura, and Gutierrez were booked into County Jail on charges of robbery, criminal conspiracy, and outstanding arrest warrants.

The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office contracts with the City of Carpinteria for police services, and while law enforcement officials thanked citizens for assisting in the apprehension and arrest of the suspects, they were concerned about the public’s safety. “For your safety, it is best for members of the community to be great witnesses, call 911 immediately and report what they are seeing,” the Sheriff’s Office wrote in a press release.