As darkness fell Friday night, deputies suspended their search along San Marcos Pass for a woman — wanted on a felony warrant — who had been involved in an earlier pursuit, according to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department.
The incident began at the Chumash Casino & Resort at about 4:30 p.m., when the Sheriff’s Department was advised that the woman being sought by authorities in Los Angeles was at that location, said Kelly Hoover, a sheriff’s spokeswoman.
When deputies arrived, they were told that the suspect and another woman had just departed in a Jeep Cherokee.
“As one deputy was pulling into the parking lot, he observed the suspect vehicle exiting the Chumash Casino, and a traffic stop was initiated,” Hoover said. “The vehicle pulled over, and as the deputy was making his approach, the suspect vehicle took off at a high rate of speed.”
The Jeep headed eastbound on Highway 154, at times reaching speeds of 100 mph, Hoover said.
“Out of public safety concerns, the pursuit was terminated, and the suspect vehicle description as put out to all area law enforcement units,” Hoover said.
A search of the mountain areas was conducted, with the assistance of a county helicopter, and shortly after 5:30 p.m, the vehicle was located near Highway 154 and West Camino Cielo.
The Jeep was then tracked down Highway 154 toward Santa Barbara, and a “high risk” traffic stop was made near Cathedral Oaks Road.
The female driver was taken into custody, but the passenger — the original driver, who was being sought under the warrant — had fled the vehicle near the top of San Marcos Pass, Hoover said.
Deputies, assisted by K-9 units, scoured the area for nearly two hours before calling off the search at about 7:30 p.m.
The suspects’ names and details on the warrant were not released.
— Noozhawk executive editor Tom Bolton can be reached at tbolton@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
