{"id":634,"date":"2026-06-13T04:09:53","date_gmt":"2026-06-13T04:09:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sanfranciscomovingguide.com\/?p=634"},"modified":"2026-06-13T04:09:53","modified_gmt":"2026-06-13T04:09:53","slug":"santa-barbara-man-accused-in-grand-theft-auto-style-crime-spree","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sanfranciscomovingguide.com\/?p=634","title":{"rendered":"Santa Barbara man accused in ‘Grand Theft Auto’-style crime spree"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Santa Barbara residents from various neighborhoods woke up Friday morning caught in the middle of one man\u2019s alleged crime spree, evoking the video game series \u201cGrand Theft Auto.\u201d<\/p>

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It all reportedly started around 5:30 a.m. when officers with the\u00a0Santa Barbara Police Department\u00a0responded to a report of a stolen vehicle on the 800 block of Cliff Drive, a few blocks up from popular Leadbetter Beach adjacent to the Santa Barbara Harbor.<\/p><\/div>

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About 15 minutes later, a Santa Barbara police officer \u201clocated the stolen vehicle in the first block of North Mills Street,\u201d about 2 miles southeast of where the car was allegedly taken, police said.<\/p><\/div>

That\u2019s when things took a video game-style turn.<\/p><\/div>

\u201cThe suspect driver accelerated toward the officer and attempted to use the vehicle to ram into him,\u201d SBPD wrote in a statement recapping the incident Friday morning. \u201cThe officer was able to move out of the vehicle\u2019s path, avoiding injury. The suspect vehicle then struck a parked vehicle before fleeing the area.\u201d<\/p><\/div>

The suspect, identified as a 25-year-old Santa Barbara resident, then took off on foot and continued his spree, police officials said.\u00a0<\/p><\/div>

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\u201cA short time later, the suspect approached a victim who was seated in her vehicle near the intersection of Salinas Street and Gutierrez Street and attempted to unlawfully take possession of the vehicle,\u201d the police statement said. \u201cDuring the encounter, the suspect pointed a cellular phone at the victim in an attempt to make it appear as though he was armed with a firearm.\u201d<\/p><\/div>

The driver who had the phone pointed at them was able to \u201csafely drive away and immediately contact the police,\u201d the police statement said.\u00a0<\/p><\/div>

Officers continued to search the area, receiving multiple calls that the man had first \u201cforced entry into a residence in the 900 block of East Carrillo Street,\u201d they said,\u00a0then allegedly \u201cattempted to force entry into a second residence in the 1000 block of East Canon Perdido Street.\u201d<\/p>

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