Firefighters were called out Saturday afternoon to rescue a man who attempted to elude pursuing sheriff’s deputies by swimming out into the ocean near Sandpiper Golf Course in Goleta.
A water-rescue team from the Santa Barbara County Fire Department was dispatched to Haskell’s Beach at about 2:25 p.m., according to fire Capt. Dave Zaniboni.
The incident began about 1 p.m., when deputies responded to a domestic-violence incident in the vicinity of the Ritz-Carlton Bacara resort, according to Kelly Hoover, a Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman.
Deputies located Michael Reardon, 47, of Santa Barbara, who fled on foot, Hoover said.
He was pursued through the Bacara property and the adjacent oil-processing facility before heading to the beach.
“The suspect jumped into the ocean and swam away from deputies,” Hoover said. “After the suspect continued for a length of time to evade deputies by swimming in the water, deputies became concerned for his safety due to the temperature of the water.”
The water-rescue team, using a jet ski, was able to retrieve Reardon, “who was quite exhausted at the time,” and bring him back to the beach, where he was taken into custody, Zaniboni said.
Reardon was suffering from hypothermia, and was taken by AMR ambulance to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital for treatment.
He was arrested on suspicion of criminal threats, violating a protective order and evading a peace officer, Hoover said, and was booked into the Santa Barbara County Jail once he was released from the hospital. His bail was set at $50,000.
— 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.
