Full Notification

John Harris Rios, age 18, of Carpinteria, was arrested for attempting to prevent or dissuade a witness from reporting a crime, a felony, and other offenses following an incident where Rios rode a motorcycle inside Skater’s Point Skate Park.

Investigation revealed that for several minutes on July 21, 2013 Rios rode an unregistered 60-cc off-road motorcycle inside and around Skater’s Point Skate Park and on the adjacent sidewalk, street, and City parking lots; in close proximity to other park users and pedestrians and while committing multiple Vehicle Code and Santa Barbara Municipal Code violations.  Portions of the incident were video recorded by witnesses.  Following the incident a witness observed Rios loading his motorcycle onto his truck which was parked behind a business on 100 E. Cabrillo Boulevard.  As the witness wrote down the license plate number of Rios’s truck in order to provide that information to police, Rios threatened the witness.

The case was investigated by the Santa Barbara Police Department’s Traffic Unit.  On July 25, 2013 Officer Jaycee Hunter obtained a search warrant for Rios’s residence on the 3500 block of Via Real in Carpinteria and a $50,000.00 felony arrest warrant for Rios for the following crimes:

• 136.1(b)(1) PC – attempting to prevent or dissuade a witness from reporting a crime
• 23103 VC – reckless driving
• 12500(b) VC – class “M” motorcycle endorsement required
• 15.16.175(1) SBMC – unlawful use of a skateboard facility
• 15.16.175(5) SBMC – use of unauthorized equipment in a skateboard facility

On July 27, 2013 at approximately 9:00 a.m., officers from the SBPD Traffic Unit served the search warrant at Rios’s residence and arrested Rios.  When interviewed Rios admitted to illegally riding his motorcycle in and around Skater’s Point and said he did so for fun and the attention of his friends.  He denied threatening the witness.

Rios was booked into Santa Barbara County Jail on the aforementioned warrant.