Alleged Gang Member Arrested for Burglary

SANTA MARIA – An alleged gang member was arrested on Saturday, Nov. 17, on suspicion of commercial burglary and booked at Santa Barbara County Jail, where he’s being held in lieu of $1.1 million bail.

Willie Holguin

Willie Holguin, 43, was taken into custody at the Town and Country Motel in the 2200 block of South Broadway, where Santa Maria police officers located him hiding in a bathroom.

Officers responded to a burglary alarm just before 7:30 a.m. on Saturday at 2401 Professional Parkway, where they found a business with an unlocked door and observed a male subject fleeing out the back of the building. Holguin was able to elude officers at the time and escape arrest, according to police.

Because Holguin was seen fleeing toward the motel, officers initiated a subsequent investigation at the location, where the suspect was arrested and taken to County Jail, said Sgt. Paul Van Meel.

Officers recovered evidence of the alleged burglary in the room where Holguin was hiding, although Van Meel didn’t know details about exactly what was found inside the motel room.

“It was sufficient to book him for that commercial burglary charge,” Van Meel said.

Holguin, a known street gang member, is also facing an enhancement charge of belonging to a street gang. Van Meel declined to comment on the suspect’s prior criminal history.

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