Drunken Burglar Busted on Bike
Santa Barbara –
Andre Michael Armendariz, 21
When Santa Barbara Police Department Officers Jacob Finerty and Dustin McGrew responded to a 911 call reporting a bicycle crash involving a drunken rider in downtown Santa Barbara on Saturday night, April 13th, they discovered a young man in a state of extreme inebriation lying on a city sidewalk beside a bicycle from which he had apparently fallen. Because the young man was bleeding profusely from a laceration behind his right ear, Finerty and McGrew wisely summoned paramedics and arranged for the young man’s transport to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital’s Emergency Room for medical treatment.
According to SBPD Public Information Officer Sgt. Riley Harwood’s media reportage, when the young man was on his way to the hospital, the officers investigated the scene further and observed that the bike apparently involved in the incident was one designed for females. They further noted that the bike had a handlebar-mounted basket “containing an expensive laptop computer, items not usually associated with drunken young men on the sidewalk,” Riley commented wryly.
When the young man was further questioned by Finerty and McGrew at the hospital as to his identity, the young man ran through a series of false names, none of which he could verify. Further investigation ultimately determined that the subject was, in fact, Andre Michael Armendariz, 21, and was wanted on an outstanding $20,000 arrest warrant pursuant to drug violations. With that finally established to their satisfaction, Finerty and McGrew arrested Armendariz on the warrant, and took him to Santa Barbara Police Department headquarters for additional questioning. Further investigation determined that both the laptop and the bicycle had been reported as stolen in a commercial burglary earlier that day, and that Armendariz was in possession of stolen wallets and identification cards.
While left alone in the SBPD interview room, Amendariz further ingratiated himself with the investigating officers by vandalizing the room, which only added some criminal condiment to his situation, which resulted in him being booked into Santa Barbara County Jail on charges of felony burglary, possession of stolen property, vandalism, and providing false information to a police officer, with his bail set at $20,000.
Photo: Courtesy Santa Barbara County Jail
Read more:
KCOY: Suspect Arrested in Santa Barbara After Found With A Stolen Bike And Laptop
Santa Barbara Media Release: Weekend Burglary Arrests
