SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, CA – August 3, 2026 – A dispute in rural Santa Maria escalated into a dangerous attack just after midnight on
August 1.
Levi Gaze, 38, of Paso Robles, allegedly used a front loader tractor to repeatedly ram and crush a vehicle while a woman was still inside the
vehicle.
According to Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department Public Information Officer
Raquel Zick. deputies were dispatched after a 911 caller reported the incident
When deputies arrived, they found the vehicle crushed and extensively damaged.
The immediately ensuing on-site investigation indicated that Gaze rammed the vehicle
several times with the tractor following a dispute. After the passenger escaped, he
reportedly used the loader’s bucket to continue destroying the vehicle. The passenger was able to escape without being seriously injured, before the vehicle was further demolished.
Deputies contacted Gaze while he was still operating the front loader and took him into
custody without incident. He was transported to Santa Barbara’s Northern Branch Jail,
where he was booked on charges of felony assault with a deadly weapon and felony
vandalism, as well as on an outstanding no-bail warrant from San Luis Obispo County.
Gaze remains in custody on a no-bail hold.
– by F. Scott Faulkner
