The man shot by a homeowner last week after allegedly trying to break into a Santa Barbara residence was charged with four misdemeanors Monday by the Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office.
William Cavit Blair, 33, is facing two counts of prowling and two counts of vandalism of less than $400 worth of damage against three adult victims in his West Pedregosa Street neighborhood.
Blair was shot in the leg by a 54-year-old homeowner last Wednesday after trying to kick in and break through a set of glass French doors at the rear of the house, according to Santa Barbara police Sgt. Riley Harwood. Blair was taken to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital and was listed in fair condition Monday afternoon, spokeswoman Janet O’Neill told Noozhawk.
Police received disturbance calls from two residences in the 900 block of West Pedregosa at 4:15 a.m. Wednesday. The man first appeared on the property of one of the Pedregosa homes, and a resident warned him to leave, Harwood said. The suspect made an obscene gesture to her and continued to the rear of the property, smashing through a gate, according to Harwood.
That resident called 9-1-1 and described the subject as acting strangely, as if he were in some altered state of mind.
At a nearby home, Blair knocked on and kicked the front door before moving to the back, where he started breaking through the glass, Harwood said. The homeowner fired a warning shot through the door with an M-1 carbine rifle that he owned, but when the man didn’t stop, he fired a second round that hit him in the leg.
Blair has contacts with the Santa Barbara Police Department going back to 2010, and is currently on unsupervised probation, officials said.
Police asked the DA’s Office to consider burglary and assault-with-a deadly-weapon charges as well, since Blair used a lantern to break through the door, and “seemed intent on doing the victim bodily harm, and while in close proximity to the victim thrust it at him,” Harwood said in a statement.
No charges are expected to be brought against the homeowner.
— Noozhawk staff writer Giana Magnoli can be reached at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
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