Suspect Arrested in Assault of Homeless Woman at Summerland Area Encampment
SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, CA — September 6, 2026 — A 911 Emergency call for service on the evening of September 3rd brought Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department deputies to the scene of a homeless encampment in the Summerland area alongside U.S. Highway 101 between the City of Carpinteria and the City of Santa Barbara.
According to SBSD Public Information Officer Raquel Zick, upon arrival at the area deputies were met by a woman who had “escaped from a homeless encampment after her boyfriend allegedly swung a large wooden stake at her head, threatened to kill her and poured lighter fluid over her.”
The victim and witnesses identified the suspect as local area transient 47-year-old Jason Tucker.
Sheriff’s deputies promptly began searching for Tucker in the Ortega Hill area near southbound Highway 101, and ultimately found him back at the homeless encampment shortly after 3 a.m. on the morning of September 4th.
He was taken into custody and transported to Santa Barbara County Jail, where he was booked on charges of assault with a deadly weapon, assault with caustic chemicals or flammable substances, making criminal threats, and intimidating or attempting to prevent a victim or witness from reporting a crime.
He remains in custody with his bail set at $100,000.
– by F. Scott Faulkner
