Santa Maria, CA -- The Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Office is reviewing surveillance images to determine who is responsible for vandalizing two patrol cars and a third SBSO vehicle over the weekend. The three vehicles were parked for the weekend at the Santa Maria Superior Court complex parking lot near the intersection of Miller and Cook Streets.

Shortly after noon on Saturday, November 19, an off-duty Sheriff’s deputy noticed the back window of the Sheriff’s Civil Bureau vehicle was shattered. Upon closer inspection, he discovered that two Sheriff’s Patrol cars parked nearby had their tires slashed. During the ensuing investigation, Sheriff’s deputies identified several deep scratches on the vehicles. In one case, the vandal(s) scratched into the paint a reference to a local criminal street gang.

The SBSO is investigating the incident as vandalism to a vehicle(s) in excess of $400. Damage is estimated to cost at least $2,300 to repair.