A Lancaster man was arrested Friday afternoon after leading deputies on a pursuit on Highway 154 through the Santa Ynez Valley, according to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office.
The incident began shortly before 3:30 p.m., when Rylen Svane-Morris, 26, showed up at a residence in the valley of a person protected by a restraining order filed against him, said Raquel Zick, sheriff’s public information officer.
Svane-Morris “fled in a vehicle as deputies arrived on scene, and was apprehended without further incident 154 at Stagecoach Road,” Zick told Noozhawk.
In addition to the alleged violation of the restraining order, Svane-Morris was wanted on a bench warrant charging felony vehicle theft and grand theft, and misdemeanor driving without a license from an incident in early December, according to Santa Barbara County Superior Court records.
The warrant was issued after Svane-Morris failed to appear at a court hearing on the charges on Jan. 5.
Svane-Morris was booked into the County Jail on the warrant, but other charges were pending, Zick said.
His initial bail was set at $25,000, but that could change depending on additional charges, she added.
Svane-Morris was arrested on a murder charge in October in connection with the death of a 72-year-old Santa Ynez man.
Investigators originally believed that Svane-Morris had attacked Terry Lee Wilson with a crowbar at his home on Jason Way near Santa Ynez Valley High School.
Svane-Morris then reportedly fled in a 2014 Chrysler minivan he didn’t own. He was taken into custody days later in Santa Cruz County.
Subsequent investigation revealed that Wilson actually had threatened to kill Svane-Morris with the crowbar, which the younger man took away from him.
In addition, it turned out that Wilson had serious medical issues that likely led to his death.
In early December, the Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office announced that it was dismissing the murder charge filed against Svane-Morris.
In a statement released at the time, the District Attorney’s Office said: “Due to new information regarding Terry Wilson’s cause of death, the People cannot proceed with the homicide case against Rylen Quinn Svane-Morris at this time.”