A man wanted in connection with multiple high-speed pursuits involving stolen vehicles was tracked down and arrested Thursday by the Santa Barbara Police Department.
Carlos Rivera Buenrostro, 18, was booked into the Santa Barbara County Jail on suspicion of auto burglary, grand theft and driving a stolen vehicle, Lt. Aaron Baker told Noozhawk.
Buenrostro was the suspected driver in incidents on July 23 and 24, Baker said.
An Infinity SUV was reported stolen on July 23, and was involved in a high-speed chase that day in the city, Baker said.
In that incident, officers pursued the vehicle — which reportedly reached speeds up to 80 mph — on Micheltorena Street to State Street, then up to Mission Street.
The driver headed west toward the freeway and blew through red lights at De la Vina and Bath streets before police called off the chase for safety reasons.
The next day, a Santa Barbara police officer patrolling along Marilla Avenue on the city’s lower Westside observed the stolen SUV, which fled up San Andres Street before heading eastbound on Carrillo Street.
Upon reaching Highway 101, the driver attempted to drive the wrong way up the southbound freeway offramp but was thwarted by heavy traffic.
At that point, the driver and a passenger jumped from the vehicle and fled on foot while it was still moving, and the SUV collided with another vehicle.
Officers converged on the area, and they quickly arrested one of the two occupants — a juvenile — in the nearby creekbed, Baker said.
At the time, Baker told Noozhawk that investigators knew the identity of the driver.
On Thursday, investigators served a search warrant at a residence in the 1800 block of Castillo Street, where they believed Buenrostro was staying.
“At that location, Buenrostro attempted to flee through the use of a back window,” Baker said. “Officers had planned for that possibility, and Buenrostro was taken into custody. In his bedroom was a key for a stolen car that he had used in a pursuit.”
Buenrostro reportedly was the driver in an earlier pursuit involving the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department, but details of that incident were not available.
— 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.