Photo: Christopher Tyrese Maxwell
Santa Barbara County – Isla Vista—home to thousands of seasonal UCSB students as well as long-time fun-loving permanent residents—may not have a reputation as the most tranquil of communities, but combat in the streets and gunfire are clearly beyond the usual weekend party atmosphere enjoyed by many of its citizens.
According to Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department Information Officer Raqel Zick, it was close to midnight on March 6th when Isla Vista Patrol received a 911 Emergency Dispatch call reporting “a fight involving several subjects” on a business district main thoroughfare. Responding deputies, while enroute to the reported scene, suddenly tensed as “a shot was heard.”
As deputies rolled up to the scene, they were joined by local area CHP Officers with sirens blaring and red lights illuminating the area. The ensuing investigation indicated that “a male suspect” had been party to a raucous verbal confrontation, at which point he “pulled a gun from his waistband and fired a single shot” which stuck the sidewalk without injuring anyone.
Witness descriptions of the suspect helped a deputy at the scene to quickly identify 20-year-old Lompoc resident Christopher Tyrese Maxwell as he attempted to flee the scene in a nearby rideshare vehicle.
Contact was made with Maxwell, and a quick search of his backpack revealed “a revolver with one spent round and the serial number filed off.” Maxwell was summarily taken into custody and transported to Ventura County Jail, where he was booked on three felony charges of Assault with a Firearm, Carrying a Loaded Firearm in Public, and Possession of a Firearm with the Serial Number Filed off. He remains in custody, with his bail set at $250,000.
Photo: Courtesy Santa Barbara County Jail Booking
