Felipe Sanchez, a 27-year-old Goleta resident, was arrested on Sunday, July 15 for breaking into an apartment on the 700 block of Camino Del Sur and holding two 23-year-old female residents at knifepoint for about an hour.

Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Dept. Lieutenant Jim Peterson said the suspect broke into Courtney Smith’s and Katy Linstroth’s apartment through an unlocked bathroom window at approximately 4:30 a.m., holding a knife.

“[Sanchez] ordered one of the victims to remove her underwear and give it to him. He hugged both victims and ordered one of them to rip the shirt off the other victim and give him the shirt,” Peterson said. “Instead, the victims ripped a shirt that they were not wearing and gave it to him.”

Sanchez then fled the apartment with the clothing as well as a cellular phone and a small amount of cash, according to police reports. An Isla Vista Foot Patrol deputy chased and arrested Sanchez in an apartment complex at 6631 Picasso Rd. 10 minutes after Smith and Linstroth called 911, according to Peterson. Smith and Linstroth were called to identify the suspect immediately after the arrest, Peterson said.

“The deputy was forced to use his baton to subdue and arrest the suspect,” he said. “The suspect was taken to Goleta Valley Cottage Hospital for treatment of minor injuries to his arm. At the hospital, deputies discovered that Sanchez was wearing … 18 pairs of women’s underwear and halter and tube tops [under his clothing], which we actually found out had been stolen from a laundry room in an adjacent apartment complex.”

Sanchez was charged with one count of felony burglary and two counts of false imprisonment by district attorney Ron Zonen. The arraignment was initially scheduled for July 17, but was continued to July 19. Zonen said Sanchez has not been charged with attempted sexual assault, one of the felony counts the Sheriff’s Dept. initially held him on, but there is a possibility charges of this nature may be filed.

Sanchez was released from jail less than a month ago, on June 29, after serving nine years of a 14-year sentence for the attempted murder of a Domino’s pizza deliveryman in Goleta in 1992. “It was just like if you called Rusty’s or Domino’s and the pizza delivery comes to the house and Sanchez just attacked the guy with a knife,” said district attorney Darryl Perlin, who prosecuted the case.

Peterson said no bail was set because of the suspect’s parole status.

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