Intentional cliff dive could hit student in wallet

A college student apprehended for obstructing law enforcement and public intoxication may also be held responsible for the financial expenditures incurred during his “unilateral decision to leap off a cliff” while trying to escape arrest in Isla Vista.

A fire engine with four personnel, a university paramedic, a university EMT and four deputies were called to assist in the arrest of the 20-year-old who intentionally hurled himself over a railing onto the beach below Del Playa Drive. The arresting deputy has requested the District Attorney reviewing the case hold the accused responsible for the financial burden he caused during his failed escape.

The subject’s 20-foot fall was slowed by the fact that his flip-flop became entangled in ice plant during his decent. Following contact with a rock outcropping, where he landed, the man lay unconscious for 15 seconds until he stirred awake. Despite suffering an arm fracture and a bruised lung, the young man got up and took off until captured on a stairwell leading up from the beach.

The subject was transported to Cottage Hospital for medical treatment before his arrest.

Oh, that thing

A driver stopped while driving in Goleta with an expired vehicle registration tab one recent afternoon was asked by deputies if he had a loaded firearm inside his vehicle.

“I don’t think so, but let me check,” he replied.

A car search uncovered a loaded Smith & Wesson concealed under the driver’s floor mat. The man explained how he’d gone target shooting “last January” and had forgotten about it.

The man, 40, who was arrested for possession of the concealed weapon and driving without a valid license, had also never registered the pistol.

Next presidential hopeful

After a man involved in a traffic collision was arrested for cocaine possession, the deputy asked if he wished to have drug treatment or counseling.

“This is my treatment,” the 23-year-old answered, implying his time spent behind bars would keep him from using.

After admitting during the interview that he’d last used cocaine at a Carpinteria beach prior to the collision on North Fairview Avenue , he added, “It was good coke. I probably did two lines, but when I use, I usually do an eight ball at a time.”

It was noted in the arrest report that the subject’s attitude oscillated between happy, sad and angry. In his rambling conversation with the arresting Sheriff’s officer, he talked about becoming president of the United States and “turning the world into a skate park.”

At 1 p.m. after his arrest, the Whittier resident was transported to Santa Barbara County Jail.

Up in smoke

Spotting a “big cloud of white smoke” in the distance, a deputy investigating the sudden plume quickly solved the mystery. A young man who’d been horsing around with a fire extinguisher had apparently discharged the safety device at an unsuspecting woman as she passed in her car. Covered in light blue fire retardant, the woman explained how the man had “blasted” her and her vehicle.

Upon seeing law enforcement, the wily subject — also covered in blue foam — attempted to flee the scene, but was quickly apprehended. After his capture just before 11 p.m. for resisting arrest, the subject, 18, told the deputy his poor decision-making was probably linked to the 40-ounce beer he’d consumed previously.

Bruised ego, too

The swift water rescue of a UCSB student was necessary after the 22-year-old willingly jumped from the Goleta pier but then had difficulty staying afloat. Following his safe return to land at 8:30 a.m., the subject and his accomplice explained to rescue workers how, after a long night of drinking, they decided to make the jump in an effort to “prove their manhood.”

Medically cleared, the man was arrested for public intoxication.

Cash-filled briefcase stolen in ‘smash-and-grab’

A Sonoma man passing through the area stopped at Tucker’s Grove for a walk, but returned to his vehicle to find his window broken and briefcase missing. The four checkbooks and $3,000 in cash stored inside the attaché were also long gone.

The “smash-and-grab” burglary occurred between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m.

Scooby snacks

A tow truck underwent extensive damage to the fuel system after an unknown vandal placed dog bones into the gas tank. Wanted for vehicle tampering, the suspect may have put the bones into the tank while the vehicle was parked on Veronica Springs Road.

The driver told authorities he heard a sputtering sound before the truck completely broke down on a recent morning.

So close, yet so far away

It was midnight on Avenida Ganso in Goleta when a man was pulled over for inoperable license plate lamps. Upon contact with the driver, 30, deputies noticed the scent of alcohol wafting out of the car.

When asked if he had a driver’s license, he responded, “I used to.” However, his license, he admitted, had been suspended for a prior DUI arrest. Despite his claim of being only a few doors down from his house, he was arrested — again.

A Breathalyzer test indicated the driver had a .115% blood alcohol level.

Garage grenade

A local resident called law enforcement after finding a grenade while cleaning his garage. Unsure if the small explosive device was live, a bomb specialist was asked to investigate. Determined to be live and dangerous, the grenade was transported to the Emergency Ordnance Disposal (EOD) site for destruction.

Midnight mass?

Staggering uncomfortably close to moving traffic on Hollister Avenue, a 56-year-old man was contacted just before 3 a.m. by deputies.

He explained he was having a hard time navigating the rough terrain while “walking home from church.”

Believed to be under the influence of alcohol, he was arrested for public intoxication.