An early morning burglary at a cannabis cultivation site in Carpinteria triggered a massive law enforcement response on Wednesday, including a helicopter search and a temporary shelter-in-place order for residents, as authorities search for multiple suspects believed to be armed.
According to Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office Public Information Officer Raquel Zick, alerts were issued at 4:30 a.m. notifying the public that deputies were working three active scenes: a burglary at a cannabis grow in the 4500-block of Foothill Road, and two related traffic collisions at the intersections of Foothill at Santa Monica and Foothill at Cravens.
A large-scale search was immediately launched, with multiple units, a K9 team, and a County Air Support helicopter swarming the area. Authorities warned that suspects were outstanding and possibly armed, prompting an emergency shelter-in-place order for a large section of the community.
Residents in the area of Foothill Road between Santa Monica Boulevard and Linden Avenue, extending south to the 101 freeway, were ordered to stay inside and call 911 if they saw anyone suspicious. The significant police presence, including overhead helicopters and sirens, startled residents awake. One resident reported being woken at 5 a.m. by an emergency alert on their phone, warning them to shelter in place due to "armed robbers at one of the marijuana growers on Foothill."
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