A Goleta neighborhood was shut down Friday morning and a special-enforcement team was sent to the scene after a report of an altercation involving a man possibly armed with a gun.
The incident began just before 9 a.m. at a residence in the 7400 block of San Blanco Drive near Dos Pueblos High School, according to Santa Barbara County sheriff’s Lt. Kelly Moore.
Moore said deputies learned that an altercation had occurred between a woman and her adult son, who allegedly pushed the woman, struck her with a sports racquet and broke a telephone as she was trying to call 9-1-1.
The mother and her 14-year-old daughter were able to escape from the house and called authorities, who converged on the El Encanto Heights neighborhood of single-family homes, Moore said.
Deputies surrounded the house and evacuated residents from adjacent homes while they attempted to make contact with the suspect.
In addition to the special-enforcement team, the Sheriff’s Department’s “Bearcat” armored vehicle was called in, as was a county helicopter.
Extra precautions were taken because there were indications the suspect might have access to weapons, Moore said.
The suspect, Felipe Barrera, 20, was eventually traced to the home of a friend on nearby San Milano Drive, where he was taken into custody without incident.
When deputies initially approached the San Milano residence, a teen who answered the door told them Barrera was not there.
However, “the deputies conducted a probation search of the residence and were able to locate the suspect inside,” Moore said.
Barrera was booked into County Jail on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, destroying a communications device to prevent someone from calling law enforcement, and committing a felony while out on bail, Moore said.
He also was booked on several outstanding arrest warrants.
The 17-year-old at the San Milano residence was charged with lying to deputies.
The San Blanco home subsequently was searched, and deputies found a loaded .22-caliber rifle that had been modified to be able to be concealed, Moore said.
No injuries were reported.
— Noozhawk staff writer Lara Cooper can be reached at lcooper@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
