Photo: Brandon Wayne Cheek
Santa Barbara – He barricaded himself until the SBSD arrived. But first, a little basckstory.
It’s a one mile-long stretch of two-lane road between Montecito and Carpinteria known as Padaro Lane. There is perhaps no more exclusive neighborhood on California’s Central Coast.
Running parallel to Union Pacific Railroad’s tracks on its north side and the Pacific Ocean on its south, Padaro Lane is the gateway to the acre-plus beachfront homes of celebrities like George Lucas, Kevin Costner, and Conan O’Brien.
Massive gates and sophisticated security systems protect these estates in order to detect any trespasser.
Just before noon on June 4th, according to SBCSD Public Information Officer Kelly Hoover, SBSD patrol units responded to the area. They did so following “a report of a suspect who was trespassing and in violation of a domestic violence restraining order.”
Cops arrived to the property. They determined that 46-year-old Santa Barbara resident Brandon Wayne Cheek “had made entry into the residence.”
The moment the cops rolled up, Cheek “barricaded himself inside the home,” which was otherwise unoccupied. Once they determined that Cheek was alone inside the home, they established a secure perimeter.
Units of the California Highway Patrol and a pair of SBSD K-9 teams joined the action. Deputies and detectives from the Sheriff’s Compliance Response Team and the Sheriff’s Special Investigations Bureau also joined in.
The cops established communications with Cheek, but he wasn’t impressed, refusing to leave the bedroom where he had barricaded himself.
They fired a canister of tear gas into the room. As a result, Cheek came outside, and deputies promptly took him into custody.
Cheeks next faced arrest and transport to Santa Barbara County Jail. Then he was booked for prior warrants for violating a domestic violence restraining order. Also, he earned first-degree burglary, robbery, intimidating a witness, felony domestic violence charges.
If you’re gonna have a stand-off with the cops, at least make it a nice place to do it from.
Photo: Courtesy Santa Barbara County Jail Booking
