Noozhawk had 102,693 readers this past week, which is about how many suitcases the Transportation Security Administration has lying around.
Here’s my take on your top five stories, as determined by our Google Analytics:
1. Popular Pastor Brutally Assaulted in His Isla Vista Home; UCSB Student Arrested in Attack
A UC Santa Barbara student was arrested in a bizarre middle-of-the-night attack on a popular local pastor after the clergyman opened the door of his Isla Vista home and was bull-rushed by the suspect.
According to Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman Kelly Hoover, Father Jon-Stephen Hedges heard someone calling for help and throwing himself at the front door of his house in the 6800 block of Fortuna Road about 2:15 a.m. May 7.
Fearing someone was in danger or distress, or just being heedful of Revelations 3:20, Hedges, 68 and an assistant pastor at St. Athanasius Orthodox Church in Goleta, did what many ministers would do: He unlocked the door and opened it.
Wrong answer.
Hoover said the suspect — later identified as 22-year-old Paul Laurence Gusman — forced himself inside and repeatedly punched Hedges in the face.
She said Hedges was struck more than 30 times in the head, and his wife, Melissa, was attacked as well. Then Gusman allegedly tried to stop the couple from calling 9-1-1.
When law enforcement arrived, officers found Gusman standing in the front yard, reportedly naked from the waist down.
Hoover said Gusman appeared to be under the influence of a controlled substance and perhaps intoxicated. She added that the two men did not know each other and that the attack seemed to be a random one.
Gusman was charged with first-degree residential burglary; assault with personal use of a deadly weapon (his fists); a special allegation of great bodily injury; dissuading a witness by force or threat, a felony; and elder or dependent adult abuse.
The District Attorney’s Office later filed a special allegation of a serious/violent/registerable sex offender felony, which means a state prison sentence would not be eligible to be served in County Jail.
Gusman entered not-guilty pleas at his May 10 arraignment in Superior Court. His bail was set at $500,000.
After the attack on her parents, Sarah Keller Brasel wrote in a Facebook post that her dad was taken to the hospital “and is now home resting with a concussion, battered and bruised.”
In his own Facebook post, Hedges turned the other cheek.
“From this, let us take increased devotion to transforming the culture of Isla Vista to one that complements the aspirations of UCSB,” he said.
In addition to his parish ministry, Hedges serves as a volunteer chaplain with the Sheriff’s Department, the Isla Vista Foot Patrol and several other agencies, and is also campus and community pastor for UCSB and the Isla Vista community.
2. Black Bear Captured After Wandering Through Western Goleta Neighborhoods
A black bear caused quite a stir May 11 as it ambled about northwestern Goleta for several hours before authorities could capture it.
The male bear, estimated to weigh 250-300 pounds, was first spotted around 8 a.m. in the 7800 block of Rio Vista Drive in the Winchester Canyon neighborhood.
The bear wasn’t aggressive, and apparently exhibited no signs of distress. It seemed to be more curious than anything, climbing over fences, roaming through backyards and even peering into a few windows.
At a respectful distance, sheriff’s deputies and state Fish and Wildlife Department personnel monitored the animal for a couple of hours, before the bear headed east toward Cathedral Oaks Road.
It next made its way down Gerard Drive, trailed by a parade of law enforcement vehicles, their emergency lights flashing.
Eventually, the bear disappeared into a culvert between Calle Real and Highway 101, just south of Hempstead Avenue. It was there that authorities were able to get close enough to dart it with a tranquilizer gun, said Jamie Dostal, a Fish and Wildlife warden.
He said the bear was safely transported up to the Santa Ynez Mountains for release into Los Padres National Forest.
City Councilwoman Paula Perotte and her fearless boxer, Apollo, were among the locals who came face to face with the wayward bruin.
“When I woke up this morning, my dog was barking and going crazy,” Perotte told me. “I look out my bedroom window, and I see a black bear. That’s a first … I’ve lived in this canyon for over 30 years, and that’s a first.”
3. 4 Injured in Highway 101 Rollover Crash in Santa Barbara
A single-vehicle rollover crash on Highway 101 in Santa Barbara sent four people to the hospital the evening of May 8.
According to Santa Barbara County Fire Capt. Dave Zaniboni, the southbound car rolled over for unknown reasons just north of La Cumbre Road.
The four occupants of the car sustained minor injuries and were transported by American Medical Response ambulance to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital.
There were no other injuries in the crash, but two of the freeway’s three lanes were shut down for a time so emergency crews could tend to the victims and clear the wreckage.
The crash is under investigation by the California Highway Patrol.
4. Scuba Diver Dies Near San Miguel Island
A 62-year-old Malibu man died while on a scuba diving excursion May 11 near San Miguel Island, reportedly after going into cardiac arrest.
County Fire Capt. Dave Zaniboni said a county helicopter with paramedics on board was dispatched to the island at 2:45 p.m., but the man died before they arrived.
The victim — identified by Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman Kelly Hoover as Craig Wesley Mattox — apparently went into cardiac arrest while aboard a dive boat. CPR attempts to revive him were unsuccessful.
Mattox’s body was flown to the Santa Barbara Airport and released to the Coroner’s Office.
5. Sheriff’s Deputies Arrest 2 After Discovering Suspected Drug Lab in Old Town Goleta
Two Oregon residents were arrested after authorities discovered a suspected drug lab in an Old Town Goleta apartment the afternoon of May 10.
Sheriff’s spokeswoman Kelly Hoover said deputies were dispatched around 5 p.m. to the 5500 block of Armitos Avenue to assist a property owner who needed help removing “several unwanted subjects from an apartment.”
“When deputies arrived, no one was inside the apartment, but they discovered what appeared to be a drug lab,” she said.
According to Hoover, Adam Estenson, 28, and Jana Santo, 36, both of Ashland, Ore., were staying in the apartment while the tenant was hospitalized.
The pair was located in the parking lot of Goleta Valley Cottage Hospital, where they were arrested on suspicion of manufacturing a controlled substance, the hallucinogenic drug dimethyltryptamine.
They were both booked into County Jail on $75,000 bail, Hoover said.
There were no injuries in the incident.
• • •
Last Year on Noozhawk
What was our most-read story this time last year? 2 Arrested, 4 Injured in Drug-Related Shooting Incident in Isla Vista.
• • •
Bill Macfadyen’s Story of the Week
No cars needed here. If only Santa Barbara had water: The Venice of the Netherlands.
• • •
Watch It
Apparently, this is no fluke.
(Hakai Magazine video)
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— Bill Macfadyen is Noozhawk’s founder and publisher. Contact him at wmacfadyen@noozhawk.com, follow him on Twitter: @noozhawk, or click here to read previous columns. The opinions expressed are his own.