Santa Barbara – The Santa Barbara Visitor’s Board, tasked with attracting tourism to The Mission City, will, in all likelihood, not soon be nominating Felipe Martinez Gallegos to their Director of Marketing position. Such a discriminatory stance would be reasonable, given the recent arrest of Gallegos, a 31-year old Santa Barbara resident, pursuant to circumstances arising at the Ala Mar Motel in the middle of the city’s most popular beachfront attractions.
According to Santa Barbara Police Department Public Information Officer Sgt. Riley Harwood, it was just after dawn on January 3rd that Gallegos was positively identified as the prime suspect in the alleged attempted rape of a 52-year old German female, whose vacation may have become a bit more memorable than she had ever anticipated.
By the time SBPD officers arrived on the scene, Gallegos, who “was in possession of a key to the room where the crimes occurred”, had departed the area on foot, but was quickly located by Officer April DeBlauw just blocks away. Once he was identified in the field by the purported victim, investigation indicated that Gallegos had retained the room key from his previous stay at the motel and “used the key to gain entry to the room, confronted the victim, and sexually assaulted her.” While perpetrating his sexual assault of the hapless woman, she attempted to access her cell phone and he prevented her from doing so, fleeing the scene only when it became apparent to him that others in the vicinity may have become aware of the situation.
Gallegos was arrested at the scene and was transported to Santa Barbara County Jail, where he was booked on charges of burglary, assault with the intent to commit rape, penetration with a foreign object, and dissuading a witness, with his bail set at a cool $1,000,000.
Photo: Courtesy Santa Barbara County Jail Booking
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