The following is a small sample of cases handled by the Santa Barbara Police Department in the past several days.
At 6:15 p.m. June 3, officers responded to the front steps of the police department on a call of a suicidal subject.
They contacted a 34-year-old male bleeding profusely from deep lacerations to both forearms. The despondent man had driven to the police department, parked in front, and then used a knife to cut deeply through the tissue and muscle of both arms.
In addition, he had swallowed an entire bottle of acetaminophen (Tylenol). An ambulance took the man to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital for treatment and psychiatric evaluation. Police recovered the knife from his vehicle.
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At 10 p.m. June 5, an officer arrested Junior Alfonso Gutierrez, 20, as a suspect in a robbery incident that occurred on May 15.
Gutierrez, who lives in Lompoc, had been visiting with family, including his uncle and cousin. The uncle had given his son (Gutierrez’s cousin) $250 to buy clothes and incidentals. Instead, Gutierrez is accused of beating up his cousin and demanding the cash.
When the victim tried calling for help on his cell phone, Gutierrez allegedly took that, too, and took off. The family notified law enforcement. Meanwhile, Gutierrez was arrested in Lompoc on a charge of probation violation. A new charge of robbery was added.
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At 11:39 p.m. June 6, an officer responded to Indochine Bar, 434 State St., on a fight call. He found a 24-year-old male with a deep laceration to the back of his head that required five staples to close.
Witnesses reported that a large disruptive group had been in the bar causing trouble. They started a fight toward the back of the club, and another one near the bar itself. The bouncers started escorting them outside.
The victim, who was not part of any fight, was out on the dance floor with friends when the suspect ran up from behind and struck him in the back of the head. The suspect ran outside, joined two friends and fled down State Street.
Another officer arrived to assist. Witnesses pointed out the suspect, who was on State Street, turning right on Gutierrez Street.
Jake B. Forshpan, 24, was arrested for assault. In his pocket were credit cards and ID belonging to another man. Forshpan said he found a wallet on the floor of Indochine. He could not explain why he kept the credit cards and ID while discarding the wallet. Forshpan was charged with assault with a deadly weapon and misappropriation of found property.
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At 5:15 p.m. June 7, two officers responded to the area of Capitol Hardware, 711 N. Milpas St., on a call of store employees chasing a theft suspect.
Officers contacted Jason Shon Wright, 37, who matched the suspect description, at 800 E. De la Guerra St.
Wright told officers that people were following him and accusing him of stealing a jackeo. An officer contacted the victim, who said Wright had been inside Capitol Hardware store looking around. Protruding from a pocket in Wright’s backpack was a Kirkland sports drink bottle filled with water, identical to one the victim had in the employee refrigerator. When Wright left the store, the victim went to the break room to retrieve his jacket from an unlocked locker. His jacket was missing. The victim then checked the refrigerator, and his water bottle was missing, too.
The victim summoned help and ran outside. He saw the suspect running away down Ortega Street to Milpas Street. The victim, assisted by his co-workers, gave chase, shouting that he only wanted his jacket back. The suspect ran down a long driveway and started jumping fences to get away. The victim used his cell phone to call police with a description and direction of travel.
Police questioned Wright, who denied wrongdoing and said he was just looking for his lost dog. Police traced Wright’s escape path and found the stolen jacket in bushes, and an envelope with the victim’s name near a trash bin. Wright admitted to entering the break room, snooping for valuables and taking the jacket.
Once in custody, Wright made threats to shoot the store employees and the arresting officer. While handcuffed at the police station, Wright kicked a hole in the wall near the mugshot camera. He was charged with burglary, vandalism and making death threats.
— Paul McCaffrey is a public information officer for the Santa Barbara Police Department.