Tag archives: crime

Brazen Burglars Hit Montecito
By Montecito Journal   |   February 6, 2024

Santa Barbara and the surrounding areas were rocked last week by a series of four burglaries, including one targeting an estate in our tight-knit community. The break-ins all occurred over the course of a single evening, Wednesday, Jan. 24, according to a statement from Raquel Zick of the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office.  The modus […]

Republicans, We Have a Problem
By Bob Hazard   |   November 8, 2022

Here at the Montecito Journal, we have long believed in offering a variety of views, letting each side have its space to speak. In light of the upcoming election, two of our longtime contributors have written in on what they think you should consider when heading to the ballot box this November 8. With Rinaldo […]

Montecito GSA Meeting
By Kelly Mahan Herrick   |   October 11, 2022

The Montecito Groundwater Basin Groundwater Sustainability Agency (Montecito GSA or Agency) will meet for its quarterly Board Meeting on Tuesday, October 11 at 9:30 am. Topics of discussion will include projects and actions which may be included in the Groundwater Sustainability Plan now and in the future. The meeting will be held in person at […]

Homicide Victim Named
By Kelly Mahan Herrick   |   August 2, 2022

The sheriffs have released the name of the victim from the homicide on the 900 block of Park Lane in May – 96-year-old Violet Evelyn Alberts. As part of the coroner’s investigation, detectives worked to locate a next-of-kin for the decedent to no avail and transferred the case to the Santa Barbara County Public Administrator’s […]

Montecito Association Discusses Pacaso
By Kelly Mahan Herrick   |   June 28, 2022

At last week’s Montecito Association (MA) meeting, the Board discussed what has become a hot topic in many communities across the country: fractional home ownership via Pacaso, a Bay Area-based company that buys homes and then sells fractional interests in them to second-home buyers. After the sale – in which the company makes a profit […]

Don’t be a Burglary Victim

Safety Tips From Your Montecito Association and Santa Barbara County Sheriffs We discuss Montecito crime statistics at every board meeting, the second Tuesday of every month at 4 pm. Lt. Arnoldi from the Sheriff’s Office watches trends and keeps us up to date. He also offers the latest tips for how to best protect your […]

Montecito Association Meets
By Kelly Mahan Herrick   |   March 15, 2022

At a quiet Montecito Association meeting earlier this week, Santa Barbara County Sheriff Lieutenant Butch Arnoldi reported on crime in Montecito over the last month.  There have been several residential burglaries including near the Polo Fields, on Romero Canyon, Tiburon Bay Lane, School House Lane, East Mountain Drive, and on Ortega Ridge. Lt. Arnoldi said […]

Deputies Arrest Arsonist in Carpinteria
By Kelly Mahan Herrick   |   March 1, 2022

Traffic was at a standstill this past weekend, with an underground fire causing the closure of the northbound freeway lanes near Via Real on Saturday evening. After an ongoing investigation of the fire, which was believed to be coming from a storm drain under the freeway, Sheriff’s deputies arrested a suspect they believe intentionally set […]

Montecito Trails Replaces Bridge
By Kelly Mahan Herrick   |   December 21, 2021

Last week was an exciting moment for the Montecito Trails Foundation as well as the community at large: the last of the bridges to be damaged or destroyed in the 1/9 Debris Flow was replaced, a project nearly four years in the making. “In order to create the best access for the public, we needed […]

Local Businesses Burglarized
By Kelly Mahan Herrick   |   August 5, 2021

Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s detectives are investigating four recent burglaries at local businesses where the suspects forced entry overnight and stole items. The first incident was Friday, July 23, 2021 in the 5800-block of Hollister Avenue at Old Town Coffee. A suspect smashed a window to gain entry, stole various items from inside the business, […]

Mail Thief Arrested
By Kelly Mahan Herrick   |   March 4, 2021

Thanks in part to a vigilant Montecito resident, a suspect was arrested late last week for mail theft and numerous other theft-related charges. Juan Carlos Coronado-Mendoza, 31, of Santa Barbara, was arrested at his home on the 1200-block of Liberty Street last week.  According to the Sheriff’s Department, on December 29, 2020, a victim of […]

Letters to the Editor
By Montecito Journal   |   February 11, 2021

Senior Moments Congratulations on the new column, Senior Portrait. Just read the wonderful article on Peter van Duinwyck, whom I knew years ago from our Montecito Association Board. He certainly made big contributions to the success there and to all his other involvements, then and now. Sure miss our “good old days” and look forward […]

More Messages from ‘The Great Beyond’
By Leslie Westbrook   |   September 17, 2020

Congratulations to Summerland-based author Cynthia Hamilton, whose latest mystery book, the fifth in her private investigator Madeline Dawkins series, The Patience of Karma, came out this week from her new publisher, Severn River Publishing. This story revolves around three crimes, including a tragic boating accident off the coast of San Diego, some Santa Barbara shenanigans […]

Drug Bust in Montecito?
By Bob Hazard   |   February 20, 2020

Rumors were rampant last Wednesday as federal agents from the Los Angeles Field Division of the DEA (Drug Enforcement Agency) swarmed the Upper Village to serve an inspection search warrant on the iconic San Ysidro Pharmacy and its popular owner Steve Hoyt. The audit began at roughly 9 am and ended by mid-afternoon. Customers were […]

Suspects Arrested for Auto Burglaries
By Kelly Mahan Herrick   |   January 30, 2020

A man and a woman driving a stolen sedan were arrested at gunpoint on Saturday afternoon, January 25, after a string of auto burglaries in Goleta at the Calle Real Shopping Center and in Montecito on Coast Village Circle. At about 3:30 pm, a deputy on patrol in Carpinteria observed a suspect vehicle that had […]

Local Crime
By Kelly Mahan Herrick   |   August 22, 2019

Earlier this week, the Journal received a call from a local horse owner asking us to get the word out about a crime that had been committed against one of her horses. Her three retired horses and one miniature donkey live in a large corral on a property on East Valley Road between Sheffield and […]

Play It Safe
By J'Amy Brown   |   July 18, 2019

Q: Are burglaries in Montecito on the rise? Actually, break-ins are down since last year – but not gone – and it seems we citizens are leaving ourselves “wide open” by not locking our doors! According to Santa Barbara County Sheriff Lt. Butch Arnoldi, assigned to the Montecito area, 30 of the 72 housebreaks in […]

San Ysidro Pharmacy Burglarized
By Kelly Mahan Herrick   |   May 16, 2019

At approximately 4:25 am on May 7, 2019, the Oxnard Police Department notified the Sheriff’s Office of an attempted burglary being investigated at Kaiser Pharmacy in the City of Oxnard. In the event that the suspect(s) could be headed to Santa Barbara County, Sheriff’s Coastal Patrol Bureau deputies conducted a check of pharmacies in the […]

SBPD Seeking Assistance & Information
By Kelly Mahan Herrick   |   April 18, 2019

The Santa Barbara Police Department Property Crimes Unit is currently investigating a series of ongoing residential burglaries that have occurred in the city of Santa Barbara on the border of Montecito. Detectives are currently looking for any surveillance video footage of suspicious subjects or vehicles for the following date(s) and location(s): April 12, 2019 between […]

Letters to the Editor
By Montecito Journal   |   April 4, 2019

Signs of Trouble What a surprise! During a Sheriff’s raid on a drug house, they found our stolen road signs; check out the attached image!  Montecito’s iconic road signs are 100% privately funded through donations to the Montecito Community Foundation. Most community members are unaware of the Montecito Community Foundation’s work (the conversion of a […]