Santa Barbara – Santa Ynez, just north of the city of Santa Barbara, is populated by ranchers and those seeking the most peaceful and rural lifestyle found anywhere in Southern California, and that’s just what it is: peaceful…until it’s not.
Things became somewhat less than tranquil for one particular female resident on the night of January 8th when she alerted law enforcement via a 911 Emergency call to several telephone calls she had received that evening from her former boyfriend, Incio Elijah Gomez, 19, who had been the subject of a domestic violence restraining order and, according to Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department Public Information Officer Kelly Hoover, was also sought on “an active domestic violence warrant.”
On the evening in question, Hoover reported to the media, “Gomez sent his ex-girlfriend a text message picture of himself holding a handgun and making suicidal threats.” The girlfriend apparently took the intent of his message seriously and immediately phoned Gomez, who promptly “threatened to shoot and kill law enforcement officers, his ex-girlfriend, her family, and then himself”.
SBSD Detectives then initiated an investigation which led to their making contact with Gomez the following day as he walked on Highway 246, a major high-speed artery bisecting the Santa Ynez Valley. Gomez was identified and placed under arrest “without incident”, Hoover reported, and he was transported to Santa Barbara County Jail where he was booked on charges of making terrorist threats, violation of a domestic violence restraining order, and upon the aforementioned warrant. He remains in custody on $150,000 bail.
Photo: Courtesy Santa Barbara County Jail Booking
Read more:
Santa Ynez Valley News: SY man arrested after alleged death threats
Lompoc Record: Santa Ynez man arrested after alleged death threats
