A Ventura County man was arrested Monday afternoon after allegedly robbed a Santa Barbara gas station at gunpoint, according to the Santa Barbara Police Department.
Officers were dispatched shortly before 5 p.m. to the Mobil station on the 3800 block of State Street on a report of a robbery, Sgt. Chris Payne told Noozhawk.
The suspect demanded cash and fled in a gold Lexus, according to emergency radio traffic.
The vehicle description was broadcast to law enforcement in the area, and it was spotted southbound on Highway 101, Payne said.
With the assistance of the California Highway Patrol, a high-risk traffic stop was made on the freeway near Hot Springs Road, and Russell Bradley Wallace, 29, was arrested, Payne said.
The cash was recovered, and Wallace was booked into the Santa Barbara County Jail on suspicion of robbery.
He was being held without bail on Tuesday.
In addition to the handgun allegedly used in the robbery, an AR-15 rifle, ammunition, an armored vest and a ballistic helmet were found in the backseat of Wallace’s vehicle.
— 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.