Santa Barbara Man Arrested for Vehicle Theft, Attempted Carjacking, and Residential Burglary

On Friday, June 12, 2026, at approximately 5:30 a.m., officers from the Santa Barbara Police Department responded to a report of a stolen vehicle in the 800 block of Cliff Drive.

Approximately 15 minutes later, an officer located the stolen vehicle in the 1st block of North Milpas Street. The suspect driver accelerated toward the officer and attempted to use the vehicle to ram into him. The officer was able to move out of the vehicle’s path, avoiding injury. The suspect vehicle then struck a parked vehicle before fleeing the area.

A short time later, the suspect approached a victim who was seated in her vehicle near the intersection of Salinas Street and Gutierrez Street and attempted to unlawfully take possession of the vehicle. During the encounter, the suspect pointed a cellular phone at the victim in an attempt to make it appear as though he was armed with a firearm. The victim was able to safely drive away and immediately contact the police.

As officers continued searching for the suspect, they received a call that he had forced entry into a residence in the 900 block of East Carrillo Street. The suspect subsequently left that residence and attempted to force entry into a second residence in the 1000 block of East Canon Perdido Street.

Officers quickly responded to the area, located the suspect, and established contact with him. Through communication and de-escalation efforts, officers were able to gain the suspect’s compliance, and he surrendered without incident. The suspect was taken into custody without further incident and no injuries were reported.

The suspect was later identified as 25-year-old Samuel Ingram of Santa Barbara.

Thankfully, no members of the public, responding officers, or the suspect were injured during the incident.

There is no threat to public safety at this time.

Anyone with information related to this incident is encouraged to contact the Santa Barbara Police Department.