Santa Barbara Police Arrest Scissor Wielding Suspect

Update by Santa Barbara Police Department
June 17, 2021

On June 16, 2021, around 2:48 pm, the Santa Barbara Police Department Patrol Officers responded with lights and sirens to the 100 East block of Canon Perdido Street for a report of a subject brandishing a fixed blade weapon and making threats to an employee at the El Presidio State Park. The victim reported the suspect had also pushed them prior to brandishing the weapon. The suspect fled the area and the victim contacted the Combined Communications Center to report the incident. A detailed suspect description was provided and relayed to responding Officers.
 
Four minutes after Officers were dispatched, a Police Sergeant observed a subject matching the description of the suspect walking in the 1000 block of Santa Barbara Street. The Sergeant, who was riding a police bicycle, attempted to detain the suspect who refused to obey verbal commands and started walking toward the Sergeant with a fixed blade weapon in their hand. The Sergeant used their police bicycle as a defensive barrier and ordered the suspect to drop the weapon several times, the subject refused to comply. The Sergeant requested additional Officers to respond and after more verbal commands and effective de-escalation, the suspect finally dropped the weapon and was detained without incident. The fixed blade weapon was later determined to be a large pair of scissors.
 
The victim positively identified the suspect and was arrested on scene. The suspect, David Howard Guttentag, 60-year-old transient, was booked at the Santa Barbara County Jail for 422 PC – Criminal Threats (felony), 417 PC – Brandishing a Weapon (misdemeanor), and 242 PC – Battery (misdemeanor). He is being held on $50,000 bail.

Knife brandishing near Santa Barbara and Canon Perdido Streets.