Jose Landeros
Santa Barbara County – The effects of methamphetamine upon one’s reasoning ability came to the fore mid-morning on May 8th in the middle windswept farmland just outside the northern Santa Barbara County community of Guadalupe.
It was out on the flat plains of an expansive agricultural parcel where deputies responded to the report of what Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department Public Information Officer Kelly Hoover described as “a subject who threatened to have a bomb in his vehicle.”
Bomb Squad at work
Arriving on the scene, deputies discovered 34-year-old Santa Maria resident Jose Landeros, who had apparently been “trying to fight with several individuals” working the land. Upon contact with the uniformed deputies, Landeros “told deputies that there was a bomb in his vehicle parked nearby,” warning them not to open the vehicle doors for fear of a deadly explosion.
That’s all deputies needed to hear, and while they promptly determined Landeros was under the influence of methamphetamine “and was in an extremely paranoid state of mind,” they nevertheless summoned the Sheriff’s Explosive Ordinance Disposal Unit while they took him into custody.
Upon behind forcibly detained, Landeros resisted arrest “as deputies attempted to transport him out of the area.” Concurrently, the SBSD EOD unit arrived, deployed a robot to inspect the vehicle, and after some tense observations, “determined that there were no explosive devices present.”
Landeros was ultimately transported to Santa Barbara County Jail, where he was booked on charges of making a false report of a bomb to law enforcement officers, battery on two peace officers, possession of methamphetamine, possession of controlled substance paraphernalia, and being under the influence of a controlled substance. According to Hoover, Landeros will also face the additional charge of vandalism for his becoming “physically violent resulting in damage to a Sheriff’s patrol car.”
Photos: Santa Barbara County Jail Booking, Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department Explosive Ordinance Disposal UnitBobmSwaud
