Stoney Poynter and Joseph Maldonado
Santa Barbara County – The harsh reality of having been convicted of a crime is that even after one has served jail or prison time and is released on probation or parole, one remains effectively under the ongoing purview and supervision of law enforcement authorities.
As part of the conditions accepted by those convicted in exchange for early release or reduced time behind bars, are the terms of probation or parole which are apparently quite difficult for many to abide by.
That was made clear by the events of May 25th in the City of Lompoc when members of the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department Compliance Response Team and the Special Investigations Bureau sought contact with several gentlemen whose names appeared on the “wanted” roster.
Jake Villareal and Brendon Hicks
Among those was Stoney Poynter, a 33-year-old resident of Lompoc who was located hiding in the bedroom closet of a Lompoc home during the service of a search warrant of those premises. Wanted for violating his parole terms, Poynter was arrested and once again headed for Santa Barbara County Jail.
Just short time later, the same law enforcement teams attempted to locate Jake Villareal, a 27-year-old Lompoc resident wanted for violating parole, at his residence.
According to SBSD Public Information Officer Kelly Hoover, as soon as the cops arrived they spotted Villareal driving past. Deputies attempted to conduct a traffic stop on Villareal’s vehicle, but he “failed to yield” and the chase was on.
After he brought his car to an abrupt halt to allow his female passenger to safely alight from the vehicle, Villareal took off again and “continued to drive in a reckless manner as he attempted to evade law enforcement.”
Shortly thereafter, Villareal abandoned the car and took off on foot, only to be dogged down by Lompoc Police Officers who caught up to him in a nearby apartment. He was then taken into custody and arrested for felony evading as well as his probation warrant.
During their productive outing, the CRT and SIB teams later made contact with 26-year-old Joseph Maldonado and 36-year-old Brendon Hicks, both of whom were taken into custody and transported to Santa Barbara County Jail where they were booked for parole violations.
Photos: Courtesy Santa Barbara County Jail Booking
