Santa Barbara Police Make 34 DUI Arrests in Past Month

The Santa Barbara Police Department’s last DUI roundup was released May 13. Since then, 34 drivers have been arrested for DUI. Ten of the arrests stemmed from traffic collisions, many of them hit-and-run. Another two arrests were reported collisions in which officers could not locate what the drivers had struck.

» At 2:28 a.m. May 13, an officer responded to a call of a robbery in the area of 1046 Coast Village Road. He contacted a woman who reported meeting a man at a downtown bar. After drinks and conversation, he offered her a ride home. Along the way, the woman discussed difficulty making her rent payment. The man said he was rich, would give her money and put her up at a hotel. The woman said she was needy but not desperate for money, and showed him $400 from her purse. The man pulled into a dark, empty parking lot, snatched the cash and pushed the woman out of the car. The woman called police from her cell phone as the suspect drove away. Minutes later, a Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s deputy stopped a 43-year-old man at Highway 101 at Fairview Avenue in a 1997 Mercedes. He was arrested for DUI and being an unlicensed driver. Later, the missing cash was found partly in his pockets and partly discarded inside the police vehicle. After the investigation, a charge of grand theft was added.

» At 11:53 p.m. May 13, an officer responded to the 600 block of Coyote Road on a call of a rollover traffic collision. A Mitsubishi pickup truck was found overturned on its top. The driver, a 25-year-old male, was arrested for DUI. He said he had been drinking with friends before driving home.

» At 10:11 p.m. May 14, an officer stopped a 23-year-old female at 700 E. Cota St. in a 2005 Mitsubishi Eclipse for unsafe speed. She was arrested for DUI, and a male passenger was arrested for public intoxication.

» At 2:04 a.m. May 16, an officer stopped a 23-year-old male at 2300 State St. in a white Pontiac for having a headlight out and for running a stop sign at 30 mph. The driver said he was driving for his friend, the passenger, who was intoxicated. The driver was arrested for DUI, and for driving without a license or insurance. The passenger was arrested for public intoxication.

» At 2:50 a.m. May 17, an officer responded to a vehicle collision at the Milpas Underpass. A 2002 Infinity SUV had driven off the marked roadway and headlong into a 7-foot construction pit. The vehicle owner, a 32-year-old male, told police a new acquaintance was driving while he followed behind in another car driven by friends. His story fell apart when the friends said he drove himself, and the Infinity’s keys were found in his pocket. He was arrested for DUI.

» At 1:54 a.m. May 21, an officer stopped a 23-year-old female at 400 Chapala St. in a Chevy Cobalt for rolling through a stop sign. She was arrested for DUI. Inside her vehicle was a cornucopia of drugs, including ecstasy, cocaine, marijuana and LSD, and an illegal knife. She was also charged with possession of drugs and the illegal weapon.

» At 4:36 a.m. May 21, an officer responded to the 500 block of Foxen Road on a call of a vehicle collision. A 19-year-old male had crashed a 1995 Subaru into a parked vehicle. He was arrested for DUI prescription medication and for driving without insurance.

» At 4:49 p.m. May 21, an officer responded to 2550 Treasure Drive on a traffic collision with a possible hit-and-run driver. A black Jeep had crashed into a parked Honda Civic. The driver, a 63-year-old male, was located a short distance away, sleeping on a nearby porch. He was arrested for DUI.

» At 9:20 p.m. May 21, an officer stopped a 52-year-old male at 100 Santa Barbara St. in a 2010 Ford Mustang for no brake lights. He was arrested for DUI. There was a passenger in the vehicle.

» At 4:36 a.m. May 23, an officer stopped a 26-year-old male at 1100 Chapala St. in a 1998 Toyota Camry for driving at night without lights. He was arrested for DUI.

» At 12:20 a.m. May 24, an officer stopped a 28-year-old male at 100 W. Carrillo St. for weaving over the center line and for an unsafe lane change. He was arrested for DUI. A passenger hollered that he was the drunken guy, and that man arrested was the designated driver.

» At 11:24 p.m. May 26, an officer responded to State Street and San Roque Road for a traffic collision. A 22-year-old male driver had rear-ended an Isuzu Trooper, causing major damage. He was arrested for DUI then released to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital for treatment of injuries received in the collision.

» At 12:25 a.m. May 29, an officer stopped a 23-year-old male at 300 E. Cota St. in a Ford Mustang for a tail light out, a brake light out and for rolling through a stop sign. He was arrested for DUI, driving with a suspended license and driving with an opened container of alcohol. There was a passenger in the vehicle.

» At 2:12 a.m. May 29, an officer stopped a 40-year-old male at 600 Chapala St. in a Pontiac Sunfire for driving at night without lights and for tinted side windows. He displayed symptoms of being under the influence of a central nervous system stimulant. He was arrested for DUI, being under the influence of illegal drugs and for being an addict driver.

» At 2:12 a.m. May 30, an officer stopped a 24-year-old female in a 2010 Toyota Camry for driving the wrong way down Gutierrez Street. She was arrested for DUI.

» At 1 a.m. June 1, an officer stopped a 19-year-old male at 200 Oceano in a 1998 Pontiac Grand Prix for unsafe speed and unsafe turn. He was arrested for DUI. There was a passenger.

» At 1:57 a.m. June 4, an officer stopped a 23-year-old female for driving the wrong way down Chapala Street. She was arrested for DUI and for driving without insurance. There were three passengers.

» At 8:35 p.m. June 4, an officer stopped a 36-year-old male at 1400 San Pascual in a 2004 Honda Accord for not dimming his high-beams. He was arrested for DUI and for being an unlicensed driver.

» At 9:19 p.m. June 4, officers responded to 3790 San Remo on a call of a traffic collision. Witnesses reported that a Toyota Camry was weaving and driving erratically. They followed it to San Remo, where it ran up on the sidewalk and into some bushes. The witnesses watched the driver go into an apartment at that location. Police knocked at the door and it was answered by a 37-year-old male. He appeared to be under the influence of prescription medications. Police recovered a pile of prescription pills from his living room. He was arrested for DUI, possession of and being under the influence of medications not prescribed to him.

» At 11:34 p.m. June 5, an officer stopped a 56-year-old female at 3300 State St. in a 2010 Nissan Versa for driving on the wrong side of the road. After being stopped, she and her passenger tried to quickly switch places in the car. The woman was arrested for DUI.

» At 11:48 p.m. June 5, an officer responded to 100 S. Canada St. on a call of a traffic collision. A 20-year-old male had crashed a 1999 Ford Mustang into two parked cars. he was arrested for DUI, being an unlicensed driver and for driving without insurance.

» At 2:44 p.m. June 10, an officer responded to the area of 400 Montgomery St. on a call of a possible hit-and-run involving a maroon Mazda four-door. The officer located a matching vehicle and stoppeda 29-year-old male at 100 E. Pedregosa St. in a 1994 Mazda 626. He was arrested for DUI, and for driving without a license or insurance. The vehicle had signs of fresh damage; officers checked the area but could not locate a traffic collision.

» At 1:44 a.m. June 11, an officer stopped a 21-year-old male at 200 E. Haley St. for speeding and weaving. He was arrested for DUI.

» At 2:04 a.m. June 12, an officer stopped a 32-year-old male at 900 E. Haley St. in a 2002 Volvo for speeding He was arrested for DUI, and for driving with alcohol in his system while on probation for a prior DUI conviction. There was a passenger in the vehicle.

» At 9:36 p.m. June 12, an officer stopped a 29-year-old male at 300 E. Canon Perdido St. in a 2000 Sierra pickup truck for driving with tinted side windows and weaving. He was arrested for driving under the combined influence of marijuana and alcohol. There was a passenger in the vehicle.

» At 6:20 p.m. June 12, a hit-and-run was reported at State and De La Vina streets. A black Jeep Cherokee had rear-ended a 2008 Audi. Officers checked the area and became alerted to a citizen helping an impaired driver park his vehicle at 2000 De la Vina St. The citizen encountered a 31-year-old male, who parked a 2001 black Cherokee on De La Vina as to be a traffic hazard. Unaware of the earlier collision, the citizen was trying to get the male into the passenger seat and safely park the vehicle himself. The officers took over by conducting a DUI investigation. He was arrested for DUI and hit-and-run. He resisted efforts to place him in the police car and tried kicking an officer in the head. A charge of resisting arrest was added.

» At 2:21 a.m. June 13, an officer stopped a 21-year-old male at 300 State St. in a 1996 Pontiac Grand Am for weaving over the center line and running a stop sign. He was arrested for DUI, for driving without a license or insurance, and for driving with an open container of alcohol.

» At 2:24 a.m. June 13, an officer responded to 1400 block of Chino Street on a call of a hit-and-run collision. A taxi driver reported that he was sitting in his parked cab when a 2004 Toyota Corolla with a flat tire came thumping down the street toward him. The Toyota sideswiped his cab, broke off the side mirror, continued down the street and then pulled into a driveway. The driver got out, went up a flight of steps to a residence and then collapsed into an outdoor patio chair. The driver remained there until police arrived. The driver, a 21-year-old male, was arrested for DUI, hit-and-run and possession of marijuana while driving.

» At 4:56 a.m. June 13, an officer responded to the area of Bath and Arrellaga streets on a call of a hit-and-run collision. The suspect vehicle was a white van. An officer stopped a 35-year-old male at 1600 Bath St. in a 2002 white Ford Windstar with fresh damage. He was arrested for DUI, hit-and-run, and for driving with a suspended license and no insurance.

» At 9:58 p.m. June 13, an officer stopped a 21-year-old male at 1st E. Ortega St. in a 2006 Mazda for making an illegal left turn out of City Lot 10 to Ortega Street. He was arrested for DUI.

» At 11:51 p.m. June 13, an officer responded to 400 Bath St. to assist a California Highway Patrol officer on a collision investigation. He contacted a 54-year-old female, who was driving a black 2006 Mercedes SLK280 with fresh damage. The driver said she may have hit a black truck but could not explain further. She was arrested for DUI. Officers checked the area but could not locate any object or vehicle involved in a collision.

» At 8:40 p.m. June 15, an officer responded to 500 Anacapa St. on a call of an intoxicated driver. A 29-year-old male was found asleep behind the wheel of a 2007 Volkswagen, stopped at the kiosk window for City Lot 11. The engine was running and the vehicle was in drive. The driver sat slumped over, his foot on the brake pedal. He was awakened and arrested for DUI and being an unlicensed driver.

» At 1:18 a.m. June 17, an officer stopped a 31-year-old male at 100 State St. in a 2010 Dodge for straddling the lane-lines, crossing over the center line and stopping unnecessarily at a green light. He was arrested for DUI.

» At 9:30p.m. June 17, an officer stopped a 27-year-old female on Highway 101 southbound at Las Positas in a 2006 Range Rover for tailgating another vehicle and driving in excess of 80 mph. She was arrested for DUI.

— Paul McCaffrey is a public information officer for the Santa Barbara Police Department.