Santa Barbara police had their hands full Tuesday night trying to capture a wanted man whom they pursued from the San Roque area up toward Mission Canyon.

The incident began at State Street and Alamar Avenue at about 6:45 p.m., when two plain-clothes detectives spotted Yuri Zhagari, 34, of Santa Barbara driving by, said Lt. Paul McCaffrey.

Zhagari, who was the subject of a $150,000 arrest warrant related to drug charges, soon realized he was being followed by the detectives, McCaffrey said.

He drove away at a high rate of speed, first on Puesta del Sol, then on Glendessary Lane, where he abandoned the vehicle and fled on foot into a brushy area, McCaffrey said.

Officers set up a perimeter and began “tightening the noose,” McCaffrey said, prompting Zhagari to run through several backyards in an attempt to escape.

He eventually was spotted heading north across Foothill Road, then ran up Tye Road toward Cheltenham Road, where he was taken into custody without incident at about 7:20 p.m., McCaffrey said.

After being arrested, Zhagari was taken to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital for treatment of a knee injury, then was booked into Santa Barbara County Jail.

In addition to the warrant charges, he was arrested on suspicion of driving on a suspended license, resisting arrest and possessing brass knuckles, McCaffrey said.

— Noozhawk executive editor Tom Bolton can be reached at tbolton@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.