Photo: Lovens Laurore
Santa Barbara County – The City of Isla Vista—touted by the UCSB admissions office as a charming and unique oceanfront community offering a wide array of student housing options just a short walk from the university’s campus—may soon be known as a a great place to become a victim of crime.
For its population, Isla Vista periodically has a disproportionate number of assaults and property crimes on the books, many of which involve individuals targeting college students and their possessions. The events transpiring in the pre-dawn hours of February 24th at a student housing facility on Del Playa Drive—one of the area’s busiest and most densely populated streets—exemplify a typical crime in the area.
According to Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department Public Information Officer Kelly Hoover, it was at 4:20 a.m. on the 24th when a 911 report of “a burglary in progress” brought deputies to the scene where they discovered 23-year-old Isla Vista resident Lovens Laurore detained by two males who were Laurore’s intended burglary victims.
The two men returned to their apartment to discover Laurore “rummaging through the apartment” and in possession of “several pieces of high-end clothing and a MacBook computer”.
When confronted by his intended victims, Laurore attempted to flee the premises, but was detained by them until the cops arrived. The ensuing investigation revealed that Laurore was on probation for a prior conviction for possession of stolen property. He was taken into custody and transported to Santa Barbara County Jail, where he was booked on a charge of residential burglary with his bail set at $50,000.
Photo: Courtesy Santa Barbara County Jail Booking
