Isla Vista Foot Patrol (IVFP) responded to a series of calls last weekend including theft, probation violation, three suicide attempts and a prank telephone call.

On Tuesday, a 46-year-old homeless man was stopped at Keg-N-Bottle just as he was about to step out of the store with a $40 bottle of Ketel One vodka under his jacket; he was arrested for shoplifting. His 22-page criminal history includes seven convictions for theft related offenses, including four cases of petty theft with a prior offense. All seven offenses involved time in custody and two were prison commitments.

On Friday night, deputies stopped a car because the occupants were not wearing their seatbelts while driving. During a consent search of the vehicle, deputies discovered hashish and a Vicodin pill in the car and a used hypodermic needle in the passenger’s pocket. The passenger is a self-admitted heroin addict and the driver, who was arrested for possession of the illegal substances, was on an “own recognizance release,” a written promise to appear at all court hearings, and on probation for burglary. Both were also charged with being under the influence of illegal substances.

Also on Friday night, a subject threw themselves from the second story of their apartment building on the 800 block of Camino Lindo in an attempt to commit suicide. The subject, a UCSB student, was transported to a hospital and remains there in stable condition.

According to law enforcement, Saturday night was relatively quiet, which officers credit to the popular Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival which draws many students out of town for the weekend.

However, law enforcement dealt with another suicide scare this Saturday. IVFP received a call from a friend of the subject. The reporting party called from Ventura, stating that her friend, a Cal Poly San Luis Obispo student, was reportedly in the I.V. area and was distraught. The caller reported the friend having said, “I am going to take the ultimate sleep,” after which she immediately telephoned law enforcement. Deputies were dispatched to check the local beaches, ultimately unsuccessfully and an attempt was made to locate the subject’s iPhone. Shortly after, a GPS located the phone in Los Alamos. Further investigation found that the subject lived in Nipomo and, according to the caller, could have possibly been driving home. The subject’s parents were contacted and some 30 minutes later the subject arrived home. The parents stated their son seemed fine and were advised to call 9-1-1 if they suspected he needed any mental health or emergency assistance.

On Sunday night, a student called to report his girlfriend had said she was going to kill herself. After confirming that threat was potentially plausible, units responded to her residence at 6600 block of Trigo to check on her welfare. However, they were unable to make contact, even after entry was made through an unsecured door. Further investigation and GPS cell phone locating revealed the woman was in the area of Veronica Springs Road near Elings Park in Santa Barbara, where one of her friends lives, according to the caller. Responding officers requested Goleta units check the area, along with the last known location of the phone; they were also provided with the subject’s vehicle description. All searches yielded negative results.

Later on Sunday, a student called to say she and her sister received prank phone calls within an hour of each other. The student said her call was a partially pre-recorded computer voice intermixed with a live caller that was antagonistic. When she told the caller she was bored and was going to hang up, the caller became angry and cursed at her, calling her by name.

Contrarily, the sister of the student said she was not threatened at all by the call and hung up after just a few seconds. It is suspected that the calls were related but no solid suspect could be determined and an investigation is ongoing.