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Lompoc officers fire shots at car accelerating toward them
By JOSH FRIEDMAN After responding to a fight at a house party, Lompoc police officers fired gunshots at a vehicle that was accelerating toward them. No one was stuck by the gunfire. Dispatchers sent officers to a disturbance involving a... (Continue reading)
Driver hits, kills 96-year-old pedestrian in Lompoc
By JOSH FRIEDMAN A driver struck and killed a 96-year-old man who was trying to cross a street in Lompoc on Monday night. Just before 9:15 p.m., officers responded to the 2000 block of North H Street following a report... (Continue reading)
Grover Beach man arrested for sexually abusing girl in Lompoc
By JOSH FRIEDMAN Lompoc police detectives arrested a 29-year-old Grover Beach man on Thursday for allegedly sexually abusing a 15-year-old girl. On Oct. 6, the girl and her mother came to the Lompoc Police Department to report a sexual assault.... (Continue reading)
Deputies arrest man who used casting calls to sexually abuse children
By JOSH FRIEDMAN Following a nearly five-year investigation, Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s detectives arrested a 46-year-old man who used casting calls to sexually abuse and exploit at least nine children. Shane Ryan Gledhill allegedly targeted and abused children who were... (Continue reading)
Inmate escapes from Lompoc prison camp
By KAREN VELIE Federal and local law enforcement agencies are searching for an inmate who escaped from the Federal Correctional Complex in Lompoc on Thursday. Omar Briceno-Quijano, 35, who was discovered missing from the minimum-security complex at approximately 4 p.m.,... (Continue reading)
Man sexually batters stranger outside store in Lompoc, arrested
By KAREN VELIE Lompoc police officers tracked down and arrested a 29-year-old man who allegedly stuck his hands down a woman’s pants outside a store on Sunday. Shortly after 5 p.m. on Sunday, the victim and a family member were... (Continue reading)
Man accused of committing 2023 Lompoc shooting
By JOSH FRIEDMAN Nearly three years after a shooting in Lompoc, detectives have named the alleged shooter, a man who is already in custody. Shortly before 7 a.m. on July 10, 2023, a caller reported a shooting in the 100... (Continue reading)
Lompoc man who lit his father on fire convicted of murder, ruled sane
By JOSH FRIEDMAN A Lompoc man who set his father on fire is facing life in prison after a jury convicted him of first-degree murder and found that he was legally sane at the time of the crime. The Santa... (Continue reading)
Central Coast resident wins $7 million lottery prize
By JOSH FRIEDMAN A Central Coast resident won $7 million after buying a $30 scratcher ticket at a liquor store in Lompoc, the California Lottery announced on Wednesday. The lucky scratch marked the second time in the last eight months... (Continue reading)
Lompoc man arrested over allegedly seeking sex with minors
By JOSH FRIEDMAN Lompoc police detectives on Thursday arrested a 41-year-old man who was allegedly seeking sex with girls aged 13 and 14. In February, detectives received information that Matthew Markonis of Lompoc was communicating with an individual believed to... (Continue reading)