Rupert Michael Gil
Santa Barbara police and a grain helicopter chased a stolen vehicle Friday morning and arrested the driver at Westside City.
The incident began shortly after 10 a.m. when a Santa Barbara County sheriff received a LoJack alert over a stolen vehicle near State Street and Highway 154, according to Anthony Wagner, spokesman for the Santa Barbara Police Department.
The deputy tried to pull over the vehicle – a red Cadillac – but the driver fled into the city.
The chase turned up from the Mission Street area to La Cumbre Road, across the highway, then down Modoc Road to the Westside.
According to emergency radio traffic, the driver ran out of some red lights, and the rear-seat occupants pulled back and had a county helicopter.
The chase ended on a vacant lot in 1800 Street of San Pascual Street, where the suspect left the vehicle and was arrested moments later with a gun, Wagner said.
The suspect was identified as Rupert Michael Gil, 18, of Santa Maria, Wagner said.
Gil is booked at Santa Barbara County Jail on suspicion of vehicle theft, criminal arrest, possession of methamphetamine and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Go back to Noozhawk for updates on this story.
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