A Carpinteria man was arrested on Friday morning after allegedly carrying out a series of robberies in Santa Barbara and Carpinteria.
The Santa Barbara Police Department (SBPD) and Santa Barbara Sheriff's Office (SBSO) reportedly began investigating the robberies in January.
Authorities say the first robbery occurred at City Market in Carpinteria on Jan. 13, and the second at Mechanics Bank in Santa Barbara on Jan. 14. A third related robbery took place at El Corte Perfecto in Carpinteria on March 3, according to SBPD.
Through the investigation, officials report that they identified the suspect in the robbery series as 47-year-old Carpinteria resident Hipolito Francisco Hernandez.
On Friday at 7:45 am, SBPD says detectives from multiple local agencies tracked Hernandez down in Port Hueneme, where he was safely taken into custody.
A subsequent search of the suspect reportedly revealed evidence of the crimes in Hernandez’s possession, including a pellet gun.
Hernandez was booked into Santa Barbara County Jail with a bail set at $1 million, according to SBPD.
