Photo: Ramon Sustaita
May 12, 2020 – Santa Barbara County
In the pre-dawn hours of Mother’s Day, May 10th, a commercial burglar alarm at a Santa Maria Walgreens Store alerted local police to what Santa Maria Police Department spokesman Lt. Paul Van Meel later described as “a forced entry” of the premises.
Responding cops quickly determined that unknown suspects had stolen “an undisclosed quantity of prescription medications.” Just an hour later, Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department deputies received a call indicating “smashed windows” at a CVS Drugstore in the community of Orcutt. According to SBSD Pubic Information Officer Raquel Zick, as deputies responded to that scene, “two suspects were located prowling in front of the store.”
Spotting the deputies, the two suspects took off running on foot while “a vehicle associated with the suspects” sped away from the location. The deputies pursued the pair, “jumping fences and moving through backyards” of the adjacent residential area.
At that point, deputies secured the area perimeter, issued a reverse-911 alert to local area residents warning folks “to shelter in place,” and then called in SBSD K-9 units. Once the dogs were on the scene as dawn broke, it was only a matter of minutes before deputies made contact with 19-year-old Fresno resident Ramon Sustaita and an unidentified juvenile.
Subsequent investigation indicated that Sustaita and the juvenile had been involved in the burglaries at both locations, whereupon Sustaita was transported to Santa Barbara County Jail where he was booked on multiple charges of commercial burglary. The Juvenile was transported to Santa Maria Juvenile Detention Center and was also charged with commercial burglary.
Photo: Courtesy Santa Barbara County Jail Booking
