After arresting two people, sheriff’s investigators are seeking the public’s help in identifying a third suspect who reportedly fled from a Santa Barbara business after a burglary early Tuesday.
At about 4:40 a.m., the Santa Barbara County Public Safety Dispatch Center received a report that a burglar alarm had been activated at Talevi’s Wine and Spirits on the 4400 block of Hollister Avenue, said Kelly Hoover, a Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman.
Two Los Angeles-area residents are in custody at the Santa Barbara County Jail due to the quick response from a sheriff’s K-9 team, Hoover said.
A K-9 team was conducting burglary patrols in the area in response to several early morning commercial break-ins that took place in recent weeks, Hoover said.
“Less than 90 seconds after Talevi’s was broken into, a sheriff’s K-9 team arrived and encountered a male subject running away from the front door of the business,” Hoover said.
The business door had been shattered and forced open, Hoover said.
Burglars broke into businesses in the El Mercado Shopping Center n the 4100 block of State Street on Monday, according to Hoover.
Samuel Saenz-Cisneros, 26, was taken into custody, along with Miriam Martinez, 29, who was sitting in a vehicle parked nearby. Both are from Los Angeles.
“It was soon learned that a third suspect had fled from the business and had run into the creekbed that travels under Hollister Avenue near Arboleda Road,” Hoover said.
Additional sheriff’s deputies and UC Santa Barbara police officers arrived shortly to assist.
Hollister Avenue was closed between Nogal Drive and Auhay Drive for about 45 minutes, and an emergency notification was sent to the surrounding neighborhood as deputies searched for the third suspect.
Led by the K-9 team, deputies conducted a search of the area but were not able to locate the suspect, Hoover said.
Saenz-Cisneros was taken into the Santa Barbara County Jail, where he was booked on suspicion of burglary and criminal conspiracy and being held on $20,000 bail, Hoover said.
Martinez was taken to Santa Barbara County Jail, where she was booked on an arrest warrant for burglary out of Los Angeles County, and being held without bail.
The Sheriff’s Department is actively looking for the third suspect, according to Hoover.
Anyone with information about the case can contact the Sheriff’s Office at 805.681.4100.
To leave an anonymous tip, call 805.681.4171 or go to the Sheriff’s Department website by clicking here.
— Noozhawk staff writer Brooke Holland can be reached at bholland@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.