September 22, 2021 – Santa Barbara County, Ca.
Without any indication as to the reason, Lompoc Police Department spokesman Sgt. Vincent Magallon provided details in the arrest of 56-year-old Lompoc resident David Thomas and reported that since the beginning of this year, Lompoc Police Department detectives “have investigated more than 50 shootings.”
That startling statistic apparently will only become a larger number for the small town, as Thomas’ arrest followed a report of gunfire in a Lompoc residential neighborhood just after noon on Sunday, September 19 th . When the cops arrived at the suspected location of the gunfire, they “located evidence of the shooting, but no suspects or victim.”
Undaunted by the thin leads at hand, detectives persisted in their investigation. Two days later, Lompoc Police identified Thomas as the likely suspect, and on the afternoon of September 21 st made contact with him pursuant to a traffic stop as he drove down a city street.
A brief investigation confirmed police suspicions, and Thomas was taken into custody at the scene. He was then transported to Lompoc City Jail, where he was booked on charges of assault with a firearm on a person, possession of a firearm by a prohibited person, and possession of ammunition by a prohibited person.
