Santa Barbara police over the weekend responded to the nonfatal stabbing of a man who was sitting in his parked car near the harbor and, in a separate case, the botched holdup of three people on the westside by an armed suspect who police say was attempting to obtain cigarettes.
The first incident occurred about 4 p.m. Saturday. The 30-year-old stabbing victim, whose wounds to the upper and lower torso were not life-threatening, told police he was sitting in his car in the Harbor West parking lot at 1332 Harbor Way when he was approached by two Latino males who appeared to be in their 20s, police said.
“One of the suspects addressed the victim by using profanities and then suddenly began stabbing the victim through the open car window,” Sgt. Lorenzo Duarte, spokesman for the Santa Barbara Police Department, said in a news release.
Duarte said the victim, who was admitted to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital, could not provide a further description of the assailants or explain a motive for the assault.
The holdup incident happened about 7:30 p.m. Sunday. Officers responded to a call from the parking lot at 930 San Pascual — near the intersection of Highway 101 and West Carrillo Street — where they were told several people had pinned to the ground a man with a gun.
As the officers arrived, they saw the apparent suspect flee the scene and jump over the fence of an apartment complex, Duarte said.
Officers gave chase and arrested 20-year-old Damian Nolasco in connection with the holdup, he said.
According to witness testimony, a man attempted to rob three people for their cigarettes. When the victims said they had no cigarettes, the suspect pulled out a loaded gun, “worked the slide” and pointed it at one of the victims, Duarte said.
At some point, Duarte said, the victims engaged in a fight with the suspect and got the gun from his control. When police arrived, the suspect fled, and a foot pursuit led police through an adjacent apartment complex, where they found and arrested him, Duarte said. The 9 mm handgun was loaded.
Nolasco was taken to the Santa Barbara County Jail and booked on suspicion of attempted robbery and assault with a deadly weapon.
Noozhawk staff writer Rob Kuznia can be reached at rkuznia@noozhawk.com.
