Sean Saggese and Liliana Zuniga
Santa Barbara County – Perhaps inspired by the classic 1972 movie starring Steve McQueen and Ali MacGraw, when 25-year-old Sean Saggese and 24-year-old Liliana Zuniga were cruising down the city streets of Lompoc on December 9th they were inviting some attention by local law enforcement.
Certainly the fact that Saggese, a parolee known to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department Compliance Response Team and already wanted for a violation of his Post Release Community Supervision, was behind the wheel of a stolen black Honda Civic would speak to the fact that he was asking for trouble.
When CRT deputies observed Saggese motoring past, they attempted a traffic stop on the Honda. According to SBSD Public Information Officer Kelly Hoover, it was at that time that Saggese “rapidly accelerated and drove recklessly through a residential street” leading deputies on a brief, high-speed pursuit. But Saggese apparently doesn’t have the renowned driving skills of actor Steve McQueen, and promptly “lost control of the vehicle, struck a curb and immobilized the vehicle.”
Undaunted (hey, they do it in the movies, don’t they?), Saggese alighted from the Honda, leaving Zuniga behind to face the music, and took off on foot. But—unlike the movies—law enforcement quickly sealed off the area, and within minutes Saggese was located in a nearby residential backyard where he was quickly subdued and taken into custody.
Saggese was then transported to Santa Barbara County Jail, where was booked on a no-bail probation violation, with his bail on new charges of felony vehicle evading and being a felon in possession of ammunition set at $175,000.
For her part, the hapless passenger Zuniga was booked on charges of possession of a controlled substance, and is currently held on a no-bail probation violation.
Photos: courtesy Santa Barbara County Jail Booking
