Full Notification

At approximately 12:30 p.m. today, August 27, a California Highway Patrol Officer was conducting an enforcement stop for a vehicle code violation on Highway 101 southbound at Mariposa Reina.  Upon contacting the driver, who was the sole occupant, the CHP Officer observed contraband in plain sight in the vehicle.  The driver got out of the vehicle and began resisting the officer.  The officer called for assistance.   The subject continued to resist the officer resulting in a physical confrontation.

A Sheriff’s deputy in plain clothes, driving an unmarked vehicle, was in the area and responded to the call for assistance.  Upon his arrival, he observed the suspect fighting with the CHP officer.  The Sheriff’s deputy and the officer attempted to take the suspect into custody while he actively resisted.  The suspect was able to get back into his vehicle and fled southbound on Highway 101.

A pursuit of the suspect was initiated by the CHP and the Sheriff’s Office assisted.  The Santa Barbara County Air Support Unit was called in to assist.  The pursuit reached speeds of up to 100 miles per hour.  In the Refugio area, the suspect turned around and continued to flee on northbound 101. 

The CHP successfully deployed a spike strip at 101 northbound just north of the Gaviota Tunnel.  The suspect exited at Highway 1.  Additional Sheriff’s personnel responding to the call for service were standing by at the Highway 1 off ramp where the suspect exited.  The suspect lost control of the vehicle and stopped abruptly 10 feet off the roadway in the dirt. 

A high-risk felony stop was initiated and the suspect was taken into custody.  The suspect was treated and released at the hospital for injuries sustained in the initial fight with the CHP Officer.  The suspect has been identified as 25-year-old Emanuel Garibay-Padilla of Solvang.  He will be booked at the Santa Barbara County Jail on charges of felony evading, assault with a deadly weapon on a peace officer, threats of violence against a peace officer and battery on a peace officer.

The CHP Officer sustained non-life threatening injuries when the suspect resisted.  The officer was treated at a hospital for non-life threatening injuries.  The deputy who responded in the unmarked vehicle received minor injuries from the suspect resisting.  He was treated at the scene and released.

The Sheriff’s Office arrested the suspect at the end of the pursuit and is the investigating agency.