Shoppers at the Whole Foods Market in Santa Barbara saw a large law enforcement presence Wednesday when police officers swarmed to an incident involving a suspect allegedly running with a knife.

Sgt. Bryan Jensen said officers were called at about 11 a.m. to the YMCA parking lot on Hitchcock Way on a report of a man chasing a vehicle.

Witnesses also reported at least one suspect was running around with a knife, possibly slashing tires, Jensen said.

An investigation revealed that 32-year-old Ismael Ramirez slashed a tire on a vehicle driven by a woman he knew while she and her male passenger, 42-year-old Ruben Gaona, were in or near her vehicle, Jensen said.

“There was some prior dispute,” he said, noting those involved were all residents of Santa Barbara.

Gaona then chased Ramirez down Hitchcock Way into the Whole Foods Market area, with Gaona ending up in Whole Foods and Ramirez in a bank in the same parking lot on the 3500 block of State Street.

Witnesses initially told police they saw two or possibly three total suspects.

Ramirez was arrested on misdemeanor vandalism charges outside the bank, and police arrested Gaona outside Whole Foods on an unrelated outstanding warrant, Jensen said. 

“We certainly had a lot of eye witnesses,” he said.

What started as two responding officers quickly grew to more than a half dozen police vehicles in the parking lot and street.

Jensen said the threat of someone running around public places with a knife — which reportedly was found but not yet confirmed as one a suspect was carrying — necessitated more officers.

He said police were considering filing additional charges against Ramirez but couldn’t disclose the details. 

— 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.