Edhat Staff
By the edhat staff
[Update: This story includes additional information from the Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office]
Santa Barbara Police have identified the driver who struck a Good Samaritan with his vehicle then led officers on a vehicle pursuit through several neighborhoods.
Cary Glenn Allen, 43 of Santa Barbara, was arrested on June 6, 2023 and charged with attempted murder, felony fleeing an officer with a vehicle pursuit, and mayhem.
Just after noon on Tuesday, Santa Barbara Police responded to a disturbance call in the 1900 block of De La Vina Street for a man pounding on the windows of a business and attempting to gain entry through a locked door.
Officers arrived and made contact with the suspect, now identified as Allen, who was asked to leave the property. Allen complied and went back into his Toyota truck and struck a retaining wall when leaving.
Santa Barbara Police then followed Allen and attempted to make a traffic stop in the 2000 block of Bath Street. According to the police report, a Good Samaritan attempted to prevent Allen’s vehicle from leaving the traffic stop by standing in front of it.
Allen struck the Good Samaritan and fled the scene, which initiated the police pursuit.
Officers rendered life-saving measures and medical aid to the Good Samaritan until Fire Department Personnel and AMR Paramedics arrived and transported them to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital with serious injuries.
“The investigation showed the incident occurring in the 2000 block of Bath Street was not a traffic collision but an intentional act by the driver to strike the good Samaritan with his vehicle,” said Santa Barbara Police Sgt. Ethan Ragsdale. “The victim is still receiving medical treatment at Cottage Hospital.”
Santa Barbara Police arrest a suspect in the Mesa neighborhood following a pursuit on June 6, 2023 (Photo: John Palminteri)
Scanner reporter Geo Duarte stated the pursuit traveled into the Mesa neighborhood where Allen was driving his truck around the block at 5mph for about twenty minutes. Until, a Mesa resident approached the truck and jumped on the vehicles side-step and put the vehicle in park.
Police officers were then able to approach the vehicle with weapons drawn and wrestle Allen out of the vehicle in the 2300 block of Carlton Way, about an hour after the initial call response.
According to Duarte, officers on the scene were not happy with the resident jumping onto the vehicle.
Allen is currently being held at the Santa Barbara County Jail with a bail set at $2 million.
Santa Barbara County District Attorney John T. Savrnoch announced today that charges have been formally filed against Allen. The four felony counts include: Aggravated Mayhem; Assault with a Deadly Weapon with a special allegation that Allen personally inflicted great bodily injury upon the victim; Leaving the Scene of an Accident Resulting in Serious Permanent Injury; and Evading an Officer Causing Injury. Allen is also charged with two misdemeanors counts – Hit and Run Driving (resulting in property damage), and Domestic Violence Contempt of Court.
Allen was also reportedly out on bail in Santa Barbara Superior Court. He is charged in that case with one felony count of Corporal Injury to a Spouse and one misdemeanor count of Domestic Violence Contempt of Court. As to the felony count, it is further alleged, that Allen was previously convicted of Battery Upon a Spouse. He was granted probation in that case on January 23, 2023.
If convicted of all charges and found in violation of probation, Allen faces a maximum sentence of 15 years to life in state prison.
Allen was arraigned on June 8, and pled not guilty to all charges and denied all special allegations.
He is scheduled to appear for preliminary hearing setting in case numbers 23CR03657 and 23CR01110, and a probation violation hearing setting in case number 22CR07633 on Tuesday, June 13, 2023, in Department 11 of the Santa Barbara Superior Court. Senior Deputy District Attorney Megan Chanda is assigned to all matters.
What a dirt bag. Purposefully hitting a person.
Hope he gets consecutive sentences!
“Easy on crime”…you reap what you sow. GT, Sac? Whaddya say?
2:35, What are you quoting? Referring to? Or merely bringing up old stuff yet again? Your post makes no sense. Just let it go.
BASIC – huh? 1) Where did I say we should be “easy on crime,” you liar? 2) How is your made up “easy on crime” malarkey even affecting this? Dude got arrested and is in a lot of trouble. Sure, he was out on bail, but that is a constitutional right. So what?
Dude…. just gtho with the nonsense and lies.
It’s just a typical random drop of malice, difficult to relate to anything.
BASIC “Easy on crime”? Are you ok bro? The dude is going to get a heavy sentence. Silly trollism.
Duarte, was told by a neighbor who witnessed the conclusion that PD asked good samaritan #2 for his ID. This was upsetting to his fellow neighbor and was perceived as intrusive. Although, when You become part of the story, it becomes documented in the Police Report. Duarte, can not speak for the SB agency that created the report, nor would he ever speak on their behalf. LoL
Intrusive? He interfered with police activity.
I am relieved that the woman/spouse he has been beating on is at least temporarily safe from his attacks while he is in jail on these new charges. Hopefully this time the judge will lock him away from the rest of us.
That’s my friend Bert he ran over
He’s this close to losing his legs because of this guy
Good job Mesa resident for stopping this low speed chase.
Nah. Reckless, stupid behavior. He is lucky he wasn’t charged with a crime, this type of vigilante behavior isn’t cool. I would be PISSED if my loved one did this.
RINCONER. I agree. Makes you wonder, though, why police weren’t the ones putting the perp’s vehicle in park.
MINI, really? I don’t wonder at all, and I’m glad SBPD followed their procedures as designed to avoid further cost to the public (officer injury, equipment damage etc.) Approaching and attempting to gain control of a moving vehicle driven by someone who nearly killed someone with it minutes earlier, and is refusing to follow police direction, is a recipe for disaster. That it worked out without injury to the vigilante citizen is pure luck.
I thought that there was some kind of automatic lock-up for “habitual” criminals. This guy has been arrested six or seven times for domestic violence (inflict corporal injury upon a spouse/cohabitant, false imprisonment by violence, and for battery on spouse). In September 2022, this guy was arrested THREE times in the same week (Sept. 15, 16, and 21) for the same crime. I do not have “faith in the system.” This guy needs to go down for a very long time.
Crimes committed in late 2022/early 2023 are unlikely to have completed the legal process yet. Looks like he did plead guilty to one of 2022 DV crimes.
Where are you getting your arrest records? I only see that he was arrested Sept 11 2022 through the court website.
None of the righty-tighties around here have bothered to figure out what was meant by defunding the police.
BASIC – when you put it in quotes, you said I said it. That’s how English works.
Never did I ever say take funds away from cops. Learn how to read.
It was “defund the police” until focus groups in the communities panned the idea, and the left pivoted to redirecting funds to social workers. Lets face it, we are left with the vestigial phrase: Defund the police. That is very different from redirect some of the funding for police to social workers. Most intelligent people can see the nuance shaded in after the fact of focus groups decided defunding police does not make sense. Reality is police will need same level of funding, and additional funding will be needed for the social workers. So, there will be no defunding of police and a new bureaucracy of social workers will be created. Its a very clumsy attempt at sleight of hand to say this past idea of “defund the police” is the same as the current “let’s put more new budget money into social workers being first responders”. The defund the Police shibboleth was torpedoed years ago as a stupid idea and the left pivoted and stumbled. The only people who believe this BS are die hard left partisans.
Face reality. “Defund the Police” failed, so you pivoted to take money from Police budgets and move it to social workers, and then that failed because the police need to retain funding at current levels, so the pivot really was changed not to “defund” but instead to fund and create a new bureaucracy of social workers.
Bottom line, the movement started with taking money out of police budgets (defunding as in “taking away” also packaged as “redirecting” funding) and due to backlash from the taxpayers transitioned into leaving police budget whole while creating a whole new department.
Point is this current model bears no resemblance to the original “Defund the police” movement
This is a good example of the great police work that the SBPD (and other LE agencies) do every….single….day. I don’t really like the fact that Mr. Allen will be out on the streets again to do what he does best: beat up and attack innocent people. Why some of you are still spouting off about defunding the police is completely beyond me. If I were to say that we should defund the art program or gender studies programs at UCSB, there would be an uproar from those who say “defund the police does not mean defunding the police.” Imagine if we defunded the public schools or defunded the lunch program….”Oh no, not at all! It means MORE money for public schools and MORE money for lunches and dinners and snacks. Yes….it does NOT mean less money….it means MORE money you silly goose!”
As a side note, one of the most vocal, influential, and well-known detractors for defunding the police and “Down with America” w-a-s Britney Griner. Now that she was taught a lesson, she’s now full attention and standing up for the National Anthem with her hand on her heart. Don’t wish and hope for bad things to happen to those with whom you disagree (and don’t feed the bears!).
Yup, still no clue about what is meant by defund the police, or even how to thread comments.