A homeless man was arrested Monday morning after he allegedly assaulted someone at an Eastside Santa Barbara gas station and then led officers on a high-speed chase down Highway 101 into Ventura County, according to authorities. 

Santa Barbara police officers were dispatched just after 8 a.m. to the 76 Gas Station in the 200 block of Milpas Street on a report that a homeless person was causing a disturbance and strangling one of the gas station attendants, Lt. Brent Mandrell said.

Police arrived on scene to find Derek Carlson, a man in his 30s and known to police as homeless and living in his car, driving away from the scene, Mandrell said.

When an officer attempted to pull Carlson over for a traffic stop, he sped away, driving erratically and up to 60 mph through stop signs, Mandrell said.

“At that point, we thought it was going to be more of a safety issue, and we terminated our pursuit,” he said.

Shortly after, a second officer contacted Carlson driving on city streets and followed him until the pursuit was again terminated.

The California Highway Patrol picked up the pursuit when Carlson began traveling south on Highway 101 at speeds exceeding 100 mph, Santa Barbara police said.

Carlson eventually pulled over in Ventura County just north of La Conchita, bailing from the car and walking over the freeway.

Mandrell said officers responding from multiple agencies found Carlson hiding in a nearby culvert.

He was arrested and booked into Santa Barbara County Jail on felony evading charges and for threatening officers, Mandrell said.

He said Carlson will also face a misdemeanor battery charge for hitting/kicking a gas attendant — not strangling, as a witness first reported.

Mandrell said police have dealt with Carlson on a number of occasions for disturbing others and he was arrested as recently as last Saturday for evading arrest.

“We have a long history of things on him, including mental illness,” Mandrell said.

Mandrell said it’s fortunate no one was injured in Monday’s incident.

— Noozhawk staff writer Gina Potthoff can be reached at gpotthoff@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.