Full Notification

On Thursday, September 13, 2018, the Santa Barbara Police Department arrested serial-robbery suspect Brent Thomas Lingiardi, age 19.  He was taken into custody without incident, ending a twenty-month long crime spree.
 
During questioning by detectives, Lingiardi, confessed to seven robberies detailing intricate facts about the case that only the suspect would know. A subsequent search warrant executed at his residence collected evidence that bolstered Lingiardi’s admission.
 
Lingiardi, a Santa Barbara resident, targeted hometown businesses as far back as February of 2017, robbing them of cash and merchandise. Last year, he robbed the Five Points Blenders in the Grass twice, as wells as the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf at State and De La Vina and the Chevron on Coast Village Road.  Earlier this year, he was thwarted while attempting to rob the Five Points CVS.
 
On September 10, 2018 at approximately 11 P.M., a lone male suspect now identified as Lingiardi robbed the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf for a second time. Lingiardi entered the business carrying a bat and disguising his face. He went directly to the back office and fled on foot with the entire cash drawer.
 
On September 11, 2018 at approximately 10 P.M., Santa Barbara Police responded to a call of a robbery that had just occurred at Blenders in the Grass on the Mesa.  The suspect, also identified as Lingiardi, wielded a bat and was wearing a mask and black coveralls.
 
Lingiardi is currently in Santa Barbara County Jail awaiting arraignment for seven felony counts of robbery.
 
Police request anyone with additional information about Lingiardi and his activities is encouraged to call Santa Barbara Police Detective Douglas Klug at (805) 897-2346 or [email protected].