Santa Barbara – On March 10, 2014, a 28-year-old female foreign exchange student was approached by Richard Stephen Delgado, 36, outside the Santa Barbara home where she was the guest of her host family. Delgado falsely claimed to be engaged in doing some repair work for the owner of the house and used that pretense to enter the home.
According to Santa Barbara Police Department Public Information Officer Sgt. Riley Harwood, when the young woman entered the house, Delgado “brandished a knife and handgun and held her captive” and then removed a wall safe from the master bedroom and a suitcase from another bedroom. He then “forced the victim to load the safe into the suitcase and then forced her to exit the residence,” taking the stolen property down the street. Throughout the episode, Harwood reported, “the victim feared for her life and begged to be let go.”
After the pair walked three blocks away, Delgado threatened to kill the young woman if she reported his actions, and then released her.
As a felony drug offender out on parole, Delgado was contacted by law enforcement on May 1st and found to be in possession of gloves, a replica handgun, a knife, and luggage stolen in another burglary. Pursuant to those parole violations, Delgado was in custody on May 16th when SBPD Crimes Against Persons Detective Brian Larson identified him as a suspect in the March 10 home invasion case. Larson made contact with Delgado at Santa Barbara County Jail where he was additionally booked on charges of kidnapping, burglary, robbery, and intimidating a witness or victim.
Delgado remains in custody with his bail currently set at $1,000,000.
Photo: Courtesy Santa Barbara County Jail Booking
Read more:
KSBY: SB man facing charges of kidnapping
EdHAT: Home invasion robbery
Noozhawk: Bail set a $1 million for home-invasion suspect
