By F. Scott Faulkner
SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, CA — April 25, 2026 — A multi-day manhunt in Santa Barbara County ended with the arrest of a suspect who allegedly rammed a deputy’s patrol vehicle before fleeing on foot.
According to Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department Public Information Officer Raquel
Zick, the incident unfolded shortly after 6 p.m. April 21 when deputies responded to “a report
of a suspicious person sitting in a vehicle at an apartment complex.”
Responding patrol deputies attempted to make contact with Anthony Torres Lopez , 40, of Santa Barbara who “suddenly and deliberately reversed his BMW into the deputy’s patrol
vehicle.”
Torres Lopez then “abandoned the vehicle and ran,” prompting an extensive search of nearby
neighborhoods. Deputies combed the area for hours but were unable to locate him that night.
Twenty-four hours later, on the evening of April 22 Torres Lopez was located and arrested at a
residence in downtown Santa Barbara. He was transported to Santa Barbara County Jail, where
he was booked on two felony warrants, including unlawful possession and use of tear gas and a
probation violation tied to carrying a concealed weapon and extortion-related offenses.
According to jail records, Torres Lopez currently remains in custody at the Southern Branch Jail under inmate Number (CID) 0258368.
