Traffic stop derails kidnapping in Montecito

November 14, 2024

By KAREN VELIE

A deputy conducting a traffic stop in Montecito derailed a kidnapping in progress on Tuesday evening.

Shortly before 11 p.m., a deputy on patrol in the area of Highway 101 near Olive Mill Road pulled over an unsafe RV that was being driven with the pop-out sections extended. As the deputy approached the RV, he observed an ongoing altercation inside the vehicle.

During an on-scene investigation, deputies learned that the passenger, 34-year-old Matthew Parsadayan from Newport Beach, forced the adult female victim to drive the RV towards Orange County. During the drive, Parsadayan threatened the victim with two knives, put his arms around her neck, and fired a handgun out of the window.

The victim, in fear for her life and for her infant who was also in the vehicle, was attempting to comply with Parsadayan’s commands when the RV was stopped by the deputy. During a search of the RV, a deputy found a Glock pistol along with a spent 9mm casing.

Deputies arrested Parsadayan for kidnapping, assault with a deadly weapon other than a firearm, discharge of a firearm with gross negligence, child cruelty, and kidnapping a child. Parsadayan is being held at the Santa Barbara Main Jail with his bail set $1 million.