A 19-year-old female reported being raped in her apartment on the 6700 block of Del Playa Drive early Sunday morning.

Deputies arrested the suspect, 20-year-old Lompoc resident Ted Tyler, after pursuing him on foot from outside the victim’s apartment to Camino Corto Road.

Santa Barbara Sheriff’s detectives determined that Tyler entered the residence through an unlocked door. After entering, he sexually assaulted the sleeping victim, who awoke during the rape, causing Tyler to flee, Sheriff’s Dept. Lt. Mike Burridge said.

“The suspect was unknown to the victim as well as the other residents of the apartment,” Burridge said.

Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Deputies were dispatched at approximately 3:50 a.m. on a report that a rape had occurred. As the deputies were responding, the dispatch was able to obtain a suspect description from witnesses. Several responding units went to the scene, and others began searching the surrounding area, according to Burridge.

“As Deputy Joseph Parker was approaching the residence, a female subject pointed to a male suspect and stated, ‘That man was just in our house,'” Burridge said. “The male subject matched the description provided by dispatch.”

The suspect was contacted by Parker on Del Playa Dr., and began to run westbound. According to Burridge, Tyler was stopped on Camino Corto Rd. and continued to resist arrest while the deputies were taking him into custody.

While he was running, the suspect began emptying the contents of his pockets onto the ground. The items, three cellular phones and a charger, were believed to be stolen, and were later recovered.

Tyler was booked into Santa Barbara County Jail on charges of penetration with a foreign object, possession of stolen property and resisting-delaying a peace officer. His bail has been set at $10,000.

-Rebecca Turek