– by F. Scott Faulkner
SANTA BARBARA COUNTY,CA — September 1, 2025 –A weeks-long investigation into an armed felony suspect ended in dramatic fashion when three men were arrested at a Santa Barbara bus station in possession of a small arsenal of firearms.
According to California High Patrol spokesman Special Services Unit Commander Captain Zivic, it all began on August 21st, when the CHP’s Coastal Division Investigative Services Unit “received a tip” about Diego Tostado Galvan, 19, of Watsonville. “Galvan was a wanted felony suspect” believed to be armed and traveling along Highway 101 through the Central Coast.
Working closely with the Santa Cruz County Anti-Crime Team (SCCACT), Santa Cruz Auto Theft Reduction and Enforcement (SCARE), and the CHP’s Coastal Division K9 Unit, investigators tracked Galvan to a bus station in Santa Barbara. At approximately 1:30 p.m., officers moved in and “safely detained” Galvan and a second suspect, 19-year-old Jeremiah Samuel Caldwell of Castro Valley.
At the time of contact with CHP officers, “both men were carrying loaded semi-automatic handguns with extended magazines.” The ensuing probable cause search of their luggage uncovered even more firepower: an assault rifle and four additional firearms.
Later that day, Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department detectives, accompanied by CHP officers, executed a search warrant at an apartment in Isla Vista, where 20-year-old Hamlet Daniel Solis of Oakland was taken into custody. That search turned up another semi-automatic handgun with an extended magazine.
Galvan, Caldwell, and Solis were each transported to Santa Barbara County Jail, where they were booked on multiple felony charges related to illegal firearm possession. All three remain in custody on a no-bail hold.
