Way past its expiration
date
Dec. 16
A deputy pulled over a truck on Mission Drive for not having a
working light on her rear license plate. Upon speaking to the driver, the
deputy learned she also had an expired driver’s license. The Lompoc woman also
told him she had failed the written portion of the DMV test several times. A
records check showed the woman’s license expired in 1993. She was cited for the
light and her 15-year-old expired license.
It’s a cryin’ shame
Dec. 15
Several deputies and a sergeant responded to a report of a crying
woman on Laurel Avenue in Solvang. The Solvang woman was reportedly sobbing
uncontrollably and pounding on the door of a condo. She said she was dropped
off at the condo to visit a friend only to discover no one was home. She
appeared very drunk and said she lived several blocks away and had no way to
get home other than walking in the pouring rain. Deputies arrested her for
public intoxication and took her to the Santa Barbara County Jail pending her
sobriety.
An end to naughty
texting
Dec. 15
A Solvang woman contacted a deputy about some unwanted video and
picture messages she had been receiving. She said for the last two weeks she
had been getting pictures and videos of nude people engaging in sexual acts
from an unknown number. The deputy contacted the Los Olivos man with the number
who told him he had mistakenly saved her number into his phone as his friend’s
number. He said he would delete her number and not contact her again.
Creepy open window
Dec. 14
Deputies responded to some suspicious circumstances on Aarhus
Drive in Solvang. The condo resident said he had discovered a screen removed
from his window with a chair propped up beneath. There was, however, no sign of
a break-in. He was concerned because he had small children living in the condo.
The deputies did not find any other evidence.
Going the wrong way
Dec. 14
A Santa Ynez man was stopped on First Street in Solvang for
driving on the wrong side of the road. The deputy also noticed he had been
parked on the wrong side of the road prior to driving there. The man told the
deputy he was an unlicensed driver with no insurance. He was cited and the
vehicle towed.
Unprovoked groin assault
Dec. 11
At the end of automotive class at Santa Ynez Valley Union High
School, a boy and a girl were talking and watching some other students play
fighting. Then another student came up behind the boy and punched him so hard
in the groin, the first boy started crying. The puncher then reportedly laughed
at the boy for crying. The girl student said the attack was unprovoked, and she
thought the puncher was really trying to hurt the boy. The perpetrator was
cited for battery on school grounds.
Trench coat twosome
Dec. 10
A woman on Willow Drive in Solvang reported two men dressed in
trench coats were trying to break into her residence. The first man was
reportedly found kneeling on the sidewalk outside the house. The Santa Ynez man
stood up, but showed his hands only after being commanded to do so multiple
times. He was so drunk, he had difficulty providing his information, even
telling a sergeant two different birthplace locations. The second man, from
Lompoc, was found on the front porch without shoes. Both men were arrested for
public intoxication and taken to the Lompoc jail. They also were later charged
with vandalism.
iWant my iPod back
Dec. 10
A ninth grader at the Santa Ynez Valley Union High School reported
that her iPod had been stolen during gym class on Nov. 21. She said she left
her black iPod Nano on the gym floor in the morning, but when she came back in
the afternoon, it was gone. She could not think of any suspects who could have
taken it. A petty theft report was taken.
Flattery gets nowhere
Dec. 7
While following another deputy transporting a prisoner to the
Lompoc Police Station, a deputy noticed a truck in the next lane going very
slow.
The truck kept drifting out of its lane and started speeding when
the other deputy tried to pass it. The truck was pulled over on the 1500 block
of Highway 246. When contacted, the Lompoc woman driving the truck interrupted
the deputy and kept telling him, “I was following the car,” meaning the deputy
who tried to pass her.
She seemed
confused and fumbled about her truck, unable to find her license or insurance.
During a field sobriety test, “walk and turn,” the woman kept starting too soon
and kept “making a musical hum” while she walked. She failed other tests as
well, even interrupting the deputy to tell him he was “cute.” The woman said
she was not drunk, she had diabetes and hadn’t taken her depression medication.
She later blew a .21/.20 BAC during a breathalyzer test. The Lompoc woman was
taken to the Lompoc jail and charged with driving under the influence and
driving with a suspended license.