Wanted Suspect Located Hiding in Underground Bunker

Source: Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Office

On Monday, May 20, 2019, a Sheriff’s Rural Crimes Detective was conducting an investigation regarding stolen property from several farms in the Santa Maria area. The investigation led to the area of A Street and La Brea Avenue in the City of Santa Maria where a stolen fertilizer injection pump had been found the previous week. When the detective and a K9 team arrived, they observed several bicycles and property in the middle of the field and what appeared to be a transient camp. Among the items they found hidden in the area were welding equipment, grinders, hand tools, battery chargers, identification documents, sports memorabilia and a laptop computer.

Upon closer observation, the deputies located a 10-foot deep hole in the ground that led to an underground bunker. When the deputies ventured down through the tunnel into the sleeping area they located meth pipes and two bindles of suspected methamphetamine. The deputies also discovered power cords connected to a nearby power pole that was being used to tap into the adjacent property owner’s electricity.

Santa Maria Police Officers responded to assist deputies with conducting a thorough search of the bunker. During the search, they located 31-year-old Daniel Nunez, a Santa Maria transient, hiding inside, covered in dirt and grass. Nunez, who provided a false name to deputies, was determined to have two outstanding warrants including one for absconding from his electronic monitoring program.

Nunez was booked on the warrants as well as charges of possession of a controlled substance, unlawful drug paraphernalia, being under the influence of a controlled substance, providing false identification to a peace officer and theft of utility services. Due to his outstanding warrants, Nunez is being held without bail.

The sports memorabilia, identification documents and the laptop computer found by deputies in and about the underground bunker have been linked to a commercial burglary of a storage facility and to a residential burglary. Both of these burglaries occurred in the City of Santa Maria. The recovered stolen property is in the process of being returned to their owners.

The Sheriff’s Rural Crime Enforcement Unit can respond to rural locations throughout the county to assist property owners in providing tips to secure the property against trespassing, theft and other crimes. To contact our Rural Crimes Unit call 805-934-6512.

Avatar

Written by Anonymous

What do you think?

Comments

0 Comments deleted by Administrator

Leave a Review or Comment

15 Comments

  1. I believe there are a few of those around. there was a pretty big one found near the RR Tracks between Calle Caesar Chavez and Santa Barbara street..A whole room built into the ground people better watch where their stepping walking through fields they might fall in one.

  2. Is that before or after we deal with the easy access to military style weapons gun nuts use to hose down kids in schools? ‘Coz it seems to the priority is 1. protect my property and 2. preserve my right to military style weapons. Other people’s lives be damned.

  3. “military style weapons” kill far less than 300 people a year. It’s a drop in the bucket. All long guns kill about 300 a year, which is less than half the number of people killed each year on bikes.
    If you want to save lives, go tackle something like suicide and stop making excuses to try and take away important, constitutionally protected rights that the vast vast majority of people don’t abuse.

Senate Approves Gun Violence Prevention Bill on Anniversary of IV Shooting

Destroyed Mud Flow Home Now a Training Site