Holden Matthew Weddington
SANTA BARBARA — The Cliff Drive branch of Santa Barbara’s Union Bank, complete with ocean view from its front door and a high volume of vehicular traffic flowing constantly past, is an unlikely target for a professional bank robber, which may explain why the robbery taking place there just after the noon hour on March 28th was perpetrated by one whose age would indicate a certain lack of experience in such matters.
When, according to Santa Barbara Police Department Public Information Officer Sgt. Riley Harwood, SBPD officers responded to the scene of the crime, they learned that “the suspect had entered the bank and presented a demand note to a teller indicating the suspect had a weapon,” although no weapon was seen.
With the total take of the robbery amounting to “less than $1,000 in cash,” the suspect left the area on foot.
Interviews of bank employees who “recognized the suspect from a previous encounter at the bank,” indicated that he was memorable to the employees if only for his unusual first name: Holden.
Comparing bank surveillance video images to a certain Holden Matthew Weddington‘s DMV records, a positive identification was soon made and a $50,000 arrest warrant for the 18-year-old Santa Barbara resident was issued.
Three hours later, SBPD detectives dropped in on young Weddington’s residence, but failed to find him on the premises. Members of his family, however, were given notice that he was now a wanted man.
Just 24 hours later, Weddington—no doubt reconsidering his behavior at the behest of his family—was escorted by them to the Santa Barbara County Jail, where he surrendered to law enforcement just prior to midnight on March 29th, and was booked on a charge of robbery.
Photo: Courtesy Santa Barbara County Jail Booking
