Broad Daylight Home Invasion Quintet Captured
April 24 – Santa Barbara
The Isla Vista community heavily populated by local UCSB students was the scene of a home invasion robbery on April 21st that involved five perpetrators acting in concert to confront an entire household of victims.
In the early afternoon, according to Drew Sugars, Santa Barbara County Sheriff Public Information Officer, “five suspects drove to a Trigo Road residence” where three of them forced their way into the home while the other two waited outside in their car. The three suspects who entered the residence were armed with knives and a “realistic-looking Beretta replica handgun” which Sugars reported was used by a suspect to pistol-whip two of the robbery victims.
Shortly thereafter, the suspects exited the home carrying undisclosed amounts of cash, marijuana, and electronic devices including cellphones and a laptop computer. The victims promptly called 911 Emergency and, according to Sugars, “were extremely helpful in relaying descriptions of the suspects and the vehicle used in their getaway.”
Not long after, a Sheriff’s patrol unit spotted the vehicle in question heading out of the area, southbound on U.S. 101 at a high rate of speed through Santa Barbara and Montecito. A felony traffic stop ensued, and with additional units arriving on scene, the five suspects were identified and taken into custody.
Each of the suspects were booked into Santa Barbara County Jail and remain in custody on $100,000 bail for felony armed robbery and criminal conspiracy: Darren Gales, 18, of Camarillo, Ca., a former Camarillo high school football prospect; Colin Campbell, 18, of Oxnard, Ca.; Miguel Valencia, 20, of Los Angeles, Jaylen Stewart, 19, of Oxnard; Eric Stewart, 22, of Compton, Ca.
Photos: courtesy Santa Barbara County Jail Booking, Acorn Newspapers
Read more:
Noozhawk: Five suspects arrested in Isla Vista Home-Invasion Robbery
Santa Barbara Independent: Five Men Arrested for Isla Vista Home Invasion Robbery
Ventura County Star: 3 Ventura County men arrested in home invasion robbery
