Santa Maria Man Arrested for Robbery in Orcutt

Source: Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office

Sheriff’s deputies have arrested a Santa Maria man for a robbery in Orcutt. On Monday, September 13, 2021, at approximately 3:48 p.m., Deputies responded to the Far Western Liquor Store in the 3500-block of Orcutt Road for a report of a theft that had just occurred. While they were enroute, Sheriff’s dispatch relayed that the suspect was possibly armed with a screwdriver that was brandished during the theft. The suspect was last seen entering the Joe Nightingale campus.

As deputies arrived on scene and began searching for the suspect, they requested that Joe Nightingale School lock down the students that remained on campus for their safety. Deputies located the suspect near Glenwood Drive and Lancaster Drive within 10 minutes and took him into custody without further incident. The suspect, 36-year-old Manuel Gauna of Santa Maria, was found in possession of the screwdriver used in the robbery as well as the stolen items from Far Western Liquor. Gauna was arrested for robbery (felony) as well as for an outstanding warrant for a violation of probation (felony), and was booked at the Main Jail where he is being held on $100,000 bail.