The suspect in a homicide that occurred last weekend in Santa Ynez was arrested Tuesday in Santa Cruz County, according to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office.
Acting on a tip, Santa Cruz County sheriff’s deputies took Rylen Quinn Svane-Morris, 24, of Lancaster into custody without incident, said Raquel Zick, a sheriff’s public information officer.
Svane-Morris is suspected in the killing of Terry Lee Wilson, 72, who lived on Jason Way, a short street just north of Santa Ynez Valley High School.
Deputies were dispatched shortly before 4 a.m. Saturday to Wilson’s home, where they found him deceased.
Rylen Quinn Svane-Morris had fled before they arrived, Zick said, and allegedly stole a blue 2014 Chrysler minivan from a nearby neighborhood a few hours later.
Svane-Morris will be booked at the Northern Branch Jail for his no-bail homicide warrant, Zick said, as well as possible additional charges.
“The stolen vehicle that he was believed to be associated with was also recovered by the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office, and will be released to the owner,” she added.
Zick previously told Noozhawk that Wilson’s daughter, who was not named, had been in “a dating relationship” with Shane-Morris, but provided no other details.
Investigators have not said how Wilson was killed, but sources told Noozhawk he may have been beaten to death.
An alert put out to other law enforcement agencies on Saturday stated that Svane-Morris might be armed with a crowbar.
— 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.