Ryan Barr
SANTA BARBARA COUNTY — Some people simply need to watch more TV cop shows to understand the nature of law enforcement’s call to duty.
The fact that when Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department deputies observe evidence of crime they have a sworn duty to respond in some fashion may have simply been something of which 28-year-old Solvang resident Ryan Barr was woefully ignorant, but that ignorance now has him behind bars.
It was on the afternoon of August 3rd when, according to SBSD Public Information Officer Kelly Hoover, deputies responded to a Solvang residence pursuant to “a reported disturbance involving a possible theft.”
Residing in the home was Barr, who denied any awareness of or involvement in any “theft from a family member.” So innocent was Barr of the alleged crime, apparently, that he saw no harm in inviting deputies into his bedroom so that they could see he did not possess any stolen items.
When deputies entered Barr’s private bedroom, they did not, in fact, find any stolen property. But what they did observe “in plain view” was evidence of Barr’s ongoing manufacture of Butane Honey Oil, “a concentrated form of cannabis,” as well as “other narcotic paraphernalia.”
As innocent as he may have been of stealing property from anyone, deputies noted that making and possessing concentrated cannabis was not only high hazardous and creating a serious danger to all others in the household, but it was also a crime.
Barr was then taken into custody without further incident—perhaps because he was also under the influence of a controlled substance, a crime for which he was charged—and transported to Santa Barbara County Jail where he was also booked for possession of narcotic paraphernalia and manufacturing a controlled substance.
On the bright side, Barr was not charged with the initial allegation of theft.
Photo: Courtesy Santa Barbara County Jail Booking
