Police Arrest Man at Goleta Home (Santa Barbara Independent)

Police Arrest Man at Goleta Home
Bystander Also Taken Into Custody for Obstructing Officers

The Sheriff’s Department announced on Thursday that deputies arrested a convicted felon who had been previously deported twice.

According to a statement on the matter from Sheriff’s spokesperson Drew Sugars, officers had been tipped off in early March that a man — Martin Perez, 35, allegedly an armed and dangerous gang member who has previously been convicted of possession a controlled substance and possession stolen property — had been residing at a home on the 7000 block of Del Norte Drive in Goleta. Around 6 a.m. on Wednesday, April 8, officers arrived at the residence and searched the home. Despite residents allegedly telling officers that Perez was not there, Perez was found him hiding beneath a futon. He was taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.

In the process of arresting Perez, a 34-year-old woman living at the home became physically combative with law enforcement there, Sugars noted. When officers told her she would be arrested for obstruction, she allegedly ran to the kitchen and threatened to stab herself in the stomach with a 6- to 8-inch knife, but deputies convinced her to drop the knife. The woman was arrested on charges of obstructing an officer and exhibiting a deadly weapon with the intention of to resist or prevent arrest.