Female Getaway Driver Arrested After Fleeing a ‘Possible Robbery’

by F. Scott Faulkner , July 31, 2018

Photo: Maryam Burgazi

Santa Barbara County – The deputy deemed it a “possible robbery.” The robbery never happened.

Walking into a gas station convenience store at midnight while wearing a dark hoodie and sporting a pair of gloves is probably a very good way to attract the attention of the store clerk.

That’s exactly what happened close to the midnight hour on July 29th at a Goleta gas station.

The appearance of “a suspicious subject” quickly had the store clerk dialing 911. This was due to the fact that the clerk was “concerned the store was about to be robbed.”

The caller also mentioned a Toyota minivan parked outside with its driver sitting behind the wheel.

Based on those reported facts, SBSD deputies were on the scene within minutes. The first thing they noticed was a minivan “matching the reported description.”

The vehicle sat parked behind the gas station at that time. As the cops moved toward it, the van “quickly left the scene.”

That departure aroused the deputies’ suspicions that the minivan was indeed possibly “associated with a possible robbery,” and they promptly pursued it.

An attempt to conduct a traffic stop failed as the minivan failed to obey traffic signs, racing down neighborhood streets for nearly five minutes.

Ultimately, the minivan “jumped a curb and hit a street sign,” bringing it to a stop. At that point, the driver—later identified as 35-year-old Goleta resident Maryam Burgazi—exited the vehicle and attempted to flee on foot.

Consequently, officers chased Burgazi down and took her into custody. The convenience store clerk “did not report a robbery. ” In addition, the fellow wearing the hoodie and gloves is still at large. Therefore, they booked Burgazi into jail on charges of reckless driving, evading, and fleeing the scene of a traffic collision.

A series of outstanding warrants compounded her problems-