ISLA VISTA Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s deputies arrested a 24-year-old Isla Vista man on New Year’s Day after he allegedly brandished a firearm.
Anthony Rios was apprehended by Isla Vista Foot Patrol officers after a short foot pursuit just after 8 p.m. Tuesday, according to a Sheriff’s Department spokesperson.
That evening, Mr. Rios had reportedly been asked to leave an establishment in the 900 block of Embarcadero Del Mar “because of his level of intoxication,” according to the Sheriff’s Department. When told to leave the establishment, he is said to have brandished a firearm and reportedly threatened to shoot people. Deputies said he then fled south into Anisq’Oyo Park.
After Mr. Rios was taken into custody, deputies searched the area and located a black backpack in a trashcan. The bag contained an ammunition magazine with two rounds, according to a Sheriff’s spokesperson. Deputies also located a handgun nearby.
Mr. Rios was arrested and booked into Santa Barbara County Jail on suspicion of possession of a pistol with an altered or destroyed serial number, criminal threats, brandishing a firearm in a threatening manner and carrying a loaded firearm in public.
On Wednesday, he posted $50,000 bond and was released from jail. The Sheriff’s Department indicated that Mr. Rios does not have any registered firearms in the system and it is “unknown at this time how he came into possession of the firearm” that was brandished during the incident.
