The multi-day search for a wanted man who allegedly rammed a deputy’s patrol vehicle earlier this week in the Goleta Valley ended with his arrest late Thursday night in Santa Barbara, according to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office.
40-year-old Anthony Torres Lopez Jr. of Santa Barbara was taken into custody at about 11:20 p.m. at Bath and Carrillo streets, sheriff’s spokeswoman Raquel Zick said.
Torres Lopez was being sought on two arrest warrants, Zick told Noozhawk.
One accused him of being a felon possessing and using tear gas, such as pepper spray. The second alleged a probation violation involving carrying a concealed weapon in a vehicle, and committing extortion or blackmail.
Deputies encountered Torres Lopez shortly after 6 p.m. Tuesday when they responded to the Patterson Place Apartments on Patterson Avenue in Goleta for a report of a suspicious person inside a vehicle, Zick said.
“During the initial contact, Torres Lopez deliberately reversed his BMW into the deputy’s patrol vehicle,” Zick said. “He then accelerated forward, driving over a sidewalk and along a pedestrian walkway on the perimeter of the complex before colliding with a raised curb.”
At that point, Torres Lopez fled on foot, setting off an extensive law enforcement search of the surrounding neighborhoods.
After several hours, the search was called off without Torres Lopez being located, and the case was assigned to sheriff’s detectives.
“During the investigation, detectives learned that Torres Lopez was known to carry bear spray and was considered unlikely to surrender peacefully,” Zick said.
On Wednesday, deputies converged on a residence on Camino Cascada in the eastern Goleta Valley, a location associated with Torres Lopez, Zick said.
He was not there, but deputies armed with a warrant returned to the residence Thursday afternoon.
Again, Torres Lopez was not present, but he was located in Santa Barbara and arrested that night.
He was booked into the Santa Barbara County Jail for his outstanding warrants for a violation of probation, a felony Ramey warrant for unlawful possession of teargas, as well as an on-view charge of possession of narcotics for sales, Zick said.
He remained in custody without bail on Friday.
Charges had not been filed against Torres Lopez by the District Attorney’s Office as of Friday afternoon.