At approximately 7:45 p.m. Friday, a Santa Barbara County sheriff’s deputy assigned to the city of Carpinteria was on active patrol in the area of Casitas Plaza when his LoJack detected a reported stolen vehicle in the area.
Dispatch confirmed that the LoJack had hit on a 1999 Honda stolen out of the city of Santa Barbara.
Additional deputies quickly responded to assist.
Approximately two minutes later, another deputy who was in the area of Bailard Avenue and Via Real, advised his LoJack was detecting the same stolen vehicle in the area. Deputies responded and located the vehicle driving on Bailard Avenue.
When deputies attempted to pull the vehicle over, the driver refused to yield and drove northbound on Highway 101. Sheriff’s deputies pursued the vehicle which turned north on Casitas Pass.
The driver stopped his vehicle on a private driveway in the 5800 block of Casitas Pass and ran from deputies on foot into an avocado orchard.
Deputies then set up a perimeter of the orchard. A Santa Barbara County Sheriff/Fire Air Support Unit helicopter and two sheriff’s K-9 teams responded to assist.
One of the K-9 teams, Deputy O’Neil and Magnum, tracked the suspect and found him hiding under an avocado tree.
The suspect, who was identified as 27-year-old Jose Jeraldo Ramos of Oxnard, was arrested and booked into the Santa Barbara County Jail on charges of possession of a stolen vehicle, fleeing an emergency vehicle, resisting a peace officer, possession of methamphetamine, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of burglary tools.
Ramos was also booked on his Ventura County felony no bail warrant.
The stolen vehicle was returned to its owner who came to the scene.
Kelly Hoover is a public information officer for the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department.