Photo: Stock Image
May 18, 2023 – Santa Barbara County, Ca. After announcing their decision to step back from their roles as senior members of the British royal family in January 2020, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle embarked on a transition period referred to in the tabloid media as “Megxit.”
In March 2020, after a two-month sojourn in Canada, and as their official royal duties concluded, the not-quite-so-royal Duke and Duchess of Sussex made the decision to settle in Montecito, a picturesque, celebrity-packed enclave immediately adjacent to the City of Santa Barbara. Their move was prompted by various factors, including their desire for a more private and peaceful lifestyle away from intense media scrutiny.
Apparently, however, when you’re the erstwhile heir—albeit somewhat lowly on the food chain—to the British Throne, a peaceful lifestyle may not be in the cards no matter where you pitch your tent.
Evidence of that came in the pre-dawn hours of May 15th , when, according Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department Public Information Officer Raquel Zick, “an incident” brought SBSD patrol deputies to Harry and Meghan’s residence with all due alacrity. Upon arrival at the scene, deputies discovered 29-year-old Lake Elsinore resident Kevin Garcia Valdovinos in the custody of “security at the estate and subjected to a citizen’s arrest.”
After conducting a thorough examination, detectives from the sheriff’s department determined that the matter constituted an alleged violation of Penal Code Section 647(h), specifically categorized as misdemeanor prowling. Following his detainment, Valdovinos was subsequently booked into the Santa Barbara County Jail and was subsequently released upon posting a bond of $2,500.
