Santa Barbara County deputies arrest fragrant felons

September 6, 2025

By KAREN VELIE

Santa Barbara County sheriff deputies on Friday arrested three men suspected of stealing nearly $2,000 of perfume from a store in Goleta.

Shortly after 2 p.m. on Friday, a caller from Ulta Beauty in the Camino Real Marketplace reported that suspects had  fled the store with stolen cologne and perfume in a red sedan headed toward Highway 101. Deputies spotted the car and pulled it over.

As deputies approached, they were met with an overwhelming scent of cologne coming from inside the car. During their search, deputies recovered approximately $1,900 worth of perfume and cologne, linking the three occupants to the theft.

Officers booked the three suspects in jail for felony organized retail theft. Miguel Tinoco Hernandez, 32, from Santa Barbara, is also being held on a misdemeanor charge of providing false information to an officer with a bail of $200,000.

Rigoberto Aguirre Andrade, 33, from Santa Clara, is also being held on two out of county warrants for theft related crimes with a bail of $325,000. The third suspect, 37-year-old Jose Encarnacion Reyes from San Jose, was also held on a misdemeanor charge of providing false information to an officer and three out of county warrants for theft related charges with a bail of $310,000.