Photo: Stock Image
It was just after midnight in the early hours of July 19th when Santa Barbara Police patrol units responded to the report of a carjacking incident on a heavily-traveled downtown business thoroughfare. When officers arrived on the scene, the victim—a local area taxicab driver—indicated that he had been carjacked by a passenger he had just picked up a few minutes earlier.
According to SBPD Public Information Officer Ethan Ragsdale, the suspect, later identified as 46-year-old Santa Barbara resident Mario Guerrero-Ramirez, had “requested to be driven to a location on the north end of the city.” Upon reaching their destination, Guerrero-Ramirez allegedly “threatened the taxi driver with a knife and proceeded to steal the taxi” along with the driver’s personal belongings.
Minutes later, patrol units observed the stolen taxi heading onto a southbound U.S. 101 freeway onramp. A vehicle pursuit by the police promptly ensued, eventually ending five miles later as Ramirez yielded to officers and was taken into custody without incident.
Guerrero-Ramirez was transported to Santa Barbara County Jail, where he was charged with carjacking, vehicle theft, driving on a suspended license, fleeing from officers, and a probation violation. He remains in custody on a no-bail hold.
