A man who allegedly threatened a neighbor’s dog with a gun was arrested in downtown Santa Barbara Tuesday, according to the Santa Barbara Police Department.
Officers were called to the 1100 block of De la Vina Street shortly before noon after neighbors reported that Phillip Edmond Cummings, 41, was brandishing a handgun, said Sgt. Riley Harwood.
“Just prior to the call, Cummings was walking his dog when he observed a neighbor’s dog unsecured in a shared driveway adjacent to their apartments,” Harwood said. “Cummings has the perception that his neighbor’s dog is a dangerous animal.
“Cummings quickly took his dog home and retrieved a loaded 9-mm semiautomatic pistol from his residence. He returned outside and confronted his neighbor’s dog, yelling at it to ‘get back’ and to ‘get behind the fence’ while pointing his gun at it.”
Cummings then returned home, and was taken into custody without incident a short time later when he came to his door, Harwood said.
He had the gun tucked into his waist band at the time, Harwood said.
Cummings was booked into Santa Barbara County Jail on a charge of possessing a loaded firearm in public, Harwood said.
Bail was set at $35,000.
— 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.

