Santa Barbara County sheriff’s deputies have arrested a young woman they believe was under the influence of methamphetamine when she allegedly stabbed a woman with a pitchfork in Old Town Goleta.
Madeline Shaw, 19, of Santa Maria was arrested Sunday on charges of attempted murder, burglary, assault with a deadly weapon, obstructing or resisting arrest, and entering a non-commercial dwelling, according to Kelly Hoover, Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman.
Shaw was also on probation at the time of her arrest, and was being held without bail in Santa Barbara County Jail.
At 2:20 p.m. Sunday, deputies responded to the 5600 block of Gato Avenue, where Shaw had been spotted at multiple residences, Hoover said.
The first resident on the street heard a noise outside, and when he walked out of his home to investigate, he spotted Shaw waving a pitchfork she had taken from his yard, Hoover said.
The man ran inside and locked his door, and Shaw proceed to enter the home next door, walking inside and picking up a cell phone she found there, Hoover said.
The resident in that home was able to take her phone from Shaw, who ran out the door and proceeded to a third home, also on Gato Avenue.
A resident there was exiting her vehicle “when the suspect made a threatening comment and stabbed her in the arm and abdomen,” Hoover said. “Fortunately, the wounds were superficial and the victim did not need to be transported to the hospital.”
The suspect took off on a bicycle in that woman’s yard after dropping the pitchfork, and deputies apprehended her on Hollister Avenue at Nectarine Avenue, near the 7-Eleven store, Hoover said.
Shaw was combative, “but they managed to take her into custody.”
Hoover said deputies believe the young woman was under the influence of drugs at the time of her arrest.
Shaw is scheduled to be arraigned in Santa Barbara Superior Court on Tuesday.
— 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.
