Joseph Bianco
SANTA BARBARA — At midnight on August 25th, Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department deputies rolled up to a Goleta area mobile home park residence in response to a 911 Emergency call reporting a man strolling around with a machete in hand.
According to SBSD Public Information Officer Kelly Hoover, “upon arrival, deputies contacted a 51-year-old male victim” who had apparently sustained a violent attack and had “badly sliced” fingers to show for it.
Upon contact by law enforcement, the victim identified 35-year-old Goleta resident Joseph Bianco as his assailant. The victim indicated that the violence erupted pursuant to “an argument” between the two men, and that Bianco had fled the area with all due alacrity prior to the arrival of law enforcement personnel.
The victim was taken to the hospital for treatment while the cops set up a search perimeter that proved fruitless as deputies “were unable to locate” their suspect.
But the following morning, Bianco was discovered hanging around Goleta Beach. Once contact with him was made, deputies discovered that Bianco was “in possession of a credit card that did not belong to him,” giving the deputies ample probable cause to detain him and pursue further investigation.
He was ultimately taken into custody, arrested “without incident”, and transported to Santa Barbara County Jail where he was booked on felony assault with a deadly weapon and misappropriation of lost property, with his bail set at $55,000.
Photo: Courtesy Santa Barbara County Jail Booking
