Arkansas Man Arrested in Goleta Home Burglaries

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By Michelle Nelson, Noozhawk Managing Editor | @NoozhawkNews

Citizen tips lead police to a suspect seen going door to door selling magazines

A 21-year-old Arkansas man has been arrested as a suspect in residential burglaries in Goleta after allegedly casing out homes by going door to door selling magazine subscriptions.

Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department spokesman Drew Sugars said Wednesday that numerous calls came in after Goleta police issued a news release Tuesday warning the public about at least one burglary and a suspicious individual roaming the neighborhood around Scripps Crescent Street.

In one case, Sugars said, a resident from the 6000 block of Berkeley Road reported finding a prowler in the backyard, who then jumped over the back fence and ran away. Goleta police and sheriff’s deputies responded to search the area.

Mathew Brian Hensley of Arkansas was stopped walking along North Fairview Avenue near Shirrell Way. He was booked into the Santa Barbara County Jail on Tuesday evening on charges of felony residential burglary. Bail was set at $200,000.

Sugars said Hensley, a suspect in at least one home burglary and possibly several more, had been staying at a motel in Santa Maria with other young men who also had been going door to door in Santa Barbara County attempting to sell magazines.

— Noozhawk managing editor Michelle Nelson 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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