Man with sword at winery event in Santa Ynez prompts day-long standoff

September 15, 2024

By KAREN VELIE

A man with a sword barricaded himself in Sunstone Winery in Santa Ynez on Friday evening which led to a 24-houe standoff.

Shortly after 6 p.m. on Friday, a caller reported a man with a sword was trespassing at the event venue in the 100-block of N. Refugio Road. Deputies arrived to find 21-year-old Frederick Miles Rice armed with a sword and barricaded inside a room. Rice had also vandalized property.

The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office Crisis Negotiation Team and the Special Enforcement Team responded to assist. It took more than 24 hours before Rice surrendered to deputies and was taken into custody without incident. Rice was booked at the Northern Branch Jail for misdemeanor burglary and felony vandalism with his bail set at $50,000.

Rice, whose family use to own the winery, posted a video on social media titled “Suicide — Taylor’s version,” and in an apparent reference to Taylor Swift, he wrote“Call TS” on a wall at the winery, according to the Santa Barbara Independent. The site was rented at the time for a wedding planned for Saturday.