Alert Off-Duty Sheriff Snags Sex Offender

May 24 – Santa Barbara County

Albert Lee Allen

An afternoon walk with his dog down a quiet residential street in bucolic Buellton, earned kudos for an off-duty Santa Barbara County Sheriff when, according to SBSD Public Information Officer Drew Sugars,  “he reported sighting a wanted sex offender suspected of being in violation of parole terms.”

Convicted rapist Albert Lee Allen, 53, had been sought on a “Be on the Lookout” alert posted by the State Parole Board under suspicion that he had physically removed a GPS ankle device which he wore pursuant to the terms of his release from prison as a sex offender.

The SBSD deputy, walking his dog on May 18th, spotted Allen on the public street and contacted Santa Barbara 911 Emergency to report the sighting.  Shortly thereafter, a half-dozen patrol units from Santa Barbara and Buellton arrived on the scene and were, according to Sugars, “engaged in a brief foot pursuit”.  Allen was promptly subdued and taken into custody.  It was quickly determined that he had, in fact, cut the GPS device from his ankle, whereupon he was booked into Santa Barbara County Jail where he is currently held without bail.

Photo: Courtesy Santa Barbara County Jail Booking

Read more:

Santa Barbara Independent: Sex Offender Arrested After Cutting of GPS Anklet

keyt.com: Wanted Sex Offender Allegedly Cuts Off Tracking Device

KCOY: Sex Offender Who Cut Off Ankle Monitoring System Caught In Buellton