Law enforcement is investigating an armed robbery that took place at a park in Isla Vista early Tuesday evening.
Around 6:44 p.m., UC Santa Barbara Police received a report of the armed robbery at Tierra De Fortuna Park at 6892 Fortuna Road, at the edge of Isla Vista next to West Campus Faculty Housing.
Two victims were reportedly approached by three to four male suspects who demanded their property. One suspect lifted his sweatshirt and displayed a black handgun tucked in his waistband. A second suspect brandished a knife and told the victims that he would “kill them,” UCSB Police stated in a campus-wide alert.
When the victims attempted to flee, they were assaulted by the suspects who then stole property from both victims. The victims were able to flee the area and report the crimes.
The suspects are described as Hispanic males, unknown ages, and all wearing masks. The suspect who brandished the knife was described as wearing a grey hooded sweatshirt and black “dickies” style pants. The remaining suspects, including the one who displayed the firearm, were described as wearing black hooded sweatshirts and black “dickies” style pants.
The Sheriff’s Office states the victims, two teen-aged juvenile males, fled to Home Depot in Goleta where they reported the crime.
Deputies checked the area for the suspects, to no avail. The victims did not request medical assistance at the scene.
The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office (SBSO) is investigating this crime. If you have information that might assist in the investigation, please contact SBSO at (805) 683-2724, or report crime information anonymously at www.sbsheriff.org/
[Ed Note: This article has been updated with information by the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office]
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This is an interesting take on the uses and perceptions of “the crime rate” that has decreased a lot:
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/28/opinion/murder-crime-safety.html?unlocked_article_code=1.LU8.GmC3.AN9mwGaNftY0&smid=url-share
free link
It is alarming how much more violent the area has become. I hope it is possible to reverse this trend again and feel sorry for the victims who not only had there things stolen but feared for their lives. Very disturbing and sad.
Bring back the pillory: It’s non-violent just humiliating. Give them a day at the place the crime was committed and a year’s 4 hours 5 days a week community service cleaning bedpans, grease traps, moping up messes. It might keep them from a life of crime. Nobody touches a hot stove twice b/c it really hurts.
It’s amazing how dangerous and violent the whole UCSB/IV “complex” has become in recent years. LE needs to get serious about cracking down on the drugs, booze, and out-of-control behavior. It would be nice if some sort of grass-roots organization like the Guardian Angels could be established to head off problems before LE has to get involved. Living in IV was once a fun thing to do, but now it’s more like the Wild West where people are in constant fear for their safety. It shouldn’t and doesn’t need to be this way.
BEES – there’s always been a lot of crime in IV. Wherever you have thousands of college age kids living in a cramped neighborhood, there will be those who prey on their naivete and then there will be the crimes committed by the residents themselves, usually due to alcohol/drugs. Been that way as long as I can remember. Not sure what more LE can do here. Crime is going to happen in these conditions.
I do think, in general, police need to stop with the “stealth” stuff and make their presence loud and visible to deter crime, instead of waiting for it to happen in front of them.