Sage Wyttenberg
SANTA BARBARA — 33-year-old Sage Wyttenberg, a Santa Barbara resident with an apparently challenging career path as a residential burglar, seems to have missed the memo about the futility of going mano-a-mano with deputies of the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department.
He demonstrated a distinct lack of appreciation for the ability of deputies to summon considerable force when taking a criminal suspect into custody when, on the morning of August 20th, he resisted any attempts to take him into custody.
It all began at 7:00 a.m., according to SBSD Public Information Officer Kelly Hoover, Wyttenberg was observed by residents of Carpinteria’s Franciscan Court condominium complex as he attempted to burglarize a vehicle.
Law enforcement was summoned, and when deputies arrived, Wyttenberg was nowhere to be seen, having fled into a nearby creek bed where deputies soon discovered him.
When deputies made contact with their suspect, it was clear that he was “actively under the influence of stimulants,” and was taken into custody.
The following investigation of Wyttenberg’s person and the surrounding area where he was hiding “uncovered a plethora of stolen property, including jewelry and bicycles,” and Wyttenberg was then handcuffed and placed into a black-and-white patrol unit for transport to Santa Barbara County Jail.
Once inside the patrol car, however, Wyttenberg “slipped his handcuffs to the front on three separate occasions,” and ultimately “charged out of the patrol unit and violently attacked” a pair of deputies. In doing so, he grabbed a “large metal industrial fan housing and a metal pipe” which he wielded with such effect that he was able to flee the area on foot.
With deputies in hot pursuit, Wyttenberg wheeled upon them and ultimately grabbed one of their batons. Through the implementation of tasers and “impact weapons” he was eventually subdued.
Both the arresting deputies and Wyttenberg were transported to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital for treatment of multiple injuries. Wyttenberg was later medically cleared and was taken to Santa Barbara County Jail, where he was booked on charges of possession of stolen property, escape, residential and vehicular burglary, possession of burglary tools, battery on a peace officer, and resisting arrest with injury, with his bail set at $500,000.
Photo: courtesy Santa Barbara County Jail Booking
