Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Deputies announced they have arrested a suspect who violently attacked a stranger and barricaded themself in a Montecito home on Wednesday afternoon.
Law enforcement responded to the call at 4:31 p.m. Wednesday for an “unknown type of problem” at a private residence in the 1000-block of Fairway Road, the Sheriff’s Office states. The initial report was a possible vehicle theft or home invasion robbery in progress.
When deputies arrived on scene, they found a female assault victim who had sustained severe injuries outside the residence. The victim was immediately transported to an area hospital by ambulance, the Sheriff’s Office states.
Deputies learned that a male suspect was still inside the residence, but it was unclear if all occupants had safely escaped.
Additional deputies along with allied agencies including the California Highway Patrol (CHP) and Santa Barbara Police established a perimeter around the residence and re-routed vehicle traffic away from Channel Drive. Santa Barbara County Air Support also responded to the area to assist with observations overhead.
While deputies attempted to determine if there were possible hostages, the Sheriff’s Office Special Enforcement Team and Crisis Negotiation Team responded with Bearcat armored rescue vehicles.
Deputies entered the residence to check for additional victims and determined that all other occupants of the home had escaped.
They located the suspect barricaded in an upstairs restroom. Deputies, including a crisis intervention trained Co-Response Team deputy attempted to talk the suspect out of the bathroom.
The suspect attempted to flee by climbing out of a second story bathroom window. He jumped to the ground where he was apprehended by deputies and a Sheriff’s K9, the Sheriff’s Office states.
The suspect is identified as 43-year-old Russell Maxwell Phay from Nevada. He was booked at the Main Jail for obstruction (misdemeanor) and felonies including burglary, assault with a deadly weapon, battery with serious bodily injury, and kidnapping. He is being held on $100,000 bail.
At 6:15 p.m., the Sheriff’s Office announced the suspect was in custody.
Additional reports state the incident took place in the Montecito home of Ty Warner, the billionaire co-founder of Beanie Babies, although this information has also not been verified by authorities.
This investigation remains ongoing. At this point, investigators do not have any indication that the victim or suspect knew one another. The status of the victim is not available at this time.
The roadway was closed for an extended period of time on Wednesday and reopened in the evening.
[Ed Note: This article has been updated with new information by the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office]
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Fortunately, SBPD was able to deploy non-lethal Beanie Babies to thwart the intruder.
I don’t think anybody really cares. Everyone’s really surprised what kind of police response went there for the affluent. Wait till you hear the real story, Montecito Freaks like P Diddy
Remember the manhunt for Luigi? Same same. The rich are ultra protected. Luigi would have gotten away had he not killed a CEO. This will probably make national news being the Tyster is involved.
I heard this suspects last name is Dahmer
I find it sad that commenters make this about Ty Warner, and not the criminal who assaulted a woman. Warner has helped make Santa Barbara a better place in many places. People need to chill out. That said, I’m surprised he didn’t have onsite security to counter this type of event.
I agree. A lady was hurt and I for one, care about that. Rich or not, no one has the right to break into your property and assault someone. Thankful that the police found him and arrested him. Hopefully she is ok.
Seriously, a woman was hurt.
These classholes who are all about attacking those with more while ignoring those who suffer are trash.
BTW, I coined the term classhole, and don’t forget it.
That’s you, so of course. We won’t forget it.
You don’t even post coherently anymore.
I’ve noticed a marked decline (and that’s saying a lot) in the comprehension, reasoning and basic communication skills of Doc 2 Boats the Scientist Ranger.
Get a life.
Deport him now! Oh, wait a minute……
Noozhawk’s report, updated at 10 a.m., includes this line: “An arrest log shows Phay was booked into jail on suspicion of attempted murder and remained in custody Thursday with $1 million bail.”
This guy has quite the consistent violent history
Evidently!
“Phay assaulted Malek-Aslanian and inflicted great bodily injury, “causing the victim to become comatose due to brain injury,” the District Attorney’s Office said.
SOMETHING SMELLS REAL FISHY .TYE
Don’t don’t you remember a few years back when he was tried for tax evasion for like $20 million and he started to pout in a Chicago courtroom and they let him go because he said it was his accountants fault (and then let him off with a very minimal sentence like nothing) He’s a crook scum sucker.
Pouting like a little wimp. He should have been sent to prison like what would have happened to the rest of us for the same crime. Instead, per CNN, “Warner had pleaded guilty to tax evasion and already paid a $53 million civil penalty and about $27 million in back taxes, prosecutors said. When he pleaded guilty, Warner admitted that he had maintained Swiss bank accounts with an unreported gross income of more than $24 million.” Basically, he only had to pay $80 million and gets to “continue his good work.”
So what happens now??? 🥺