By F. Scott Faulkner
December 11, 2024 – Santa Barbara, CA
For many shoppers, a routine Sunday afternoon excursion to the neighborhood Trader Joe’s
Market turned into more excitement than anyone had bargained for when 26-year-old Santa
Barbara resident veered into the store parking lot behind the wheel of a stolen
SUV and began crashing into multiple vehicles.
Zanabria—with a history of criminal convictions—reportedly “backed into parked cars, nearly
hitting shoppers before speeding away,” according to Santa Barbara Police Department
spokesman Sgt. Bryan Kerr. Bystanders promptly called 911 to report the mayhem as they
observed him exiting the parking lot, “running a red light, shouting racial slurs at black
pedestrians, and narrowly missing a group of cyclists.”
Responding SBPD patrol officers located Zanabria several blocks away, but as they approached,
he fled on foot but was quickly apprehended after a brief chase. He was taken into custody and
transported to Santa Barbara County Jail, where he was book on charges of hit-and-run, driving
under the influence, possession of a stolen vehicle, making criminal threats, and violating parole.
With a lengthy criminal record that includes two strikes under California’s three-strikes law for
carjacking, assault and drug possession he remains in custody on a no-bail hold.
