Deputies detain two men in suspected Montecito burglary

The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office has detained two men suspected in the Thursday night burglary of a home in Montecito.

Franke James Showell, 25, of Lancaster and Donyae Lamonte Dixon, 29, of Los Angeles are in custody at Santa Barbara County Jail on suspicion of burglary and conspiracy, with Showell also suspected of false impersonation. Both men are being held on $50,000 bail.

Just after 9 p.m. Thursday, a resident in the 200 block of Gould Lane, in Montecito, said he heard “strange noises coming from a child’s bedroom inside his residence,” according to the sheriff’s office.

The man, a father of two young children, investigated and “upon entering a hallway between bedrooms, he immediately saw a male suspect dressed in dark clothing.”

The sheriff’s office said the man yelled at the suspect, who fled back into the bedroom and out the window, which allegedly was used to enter the home.

“The suspect was last seen fleeing down an embankment to a wooded area,” according to the sheriff’s office.

In the wake of the Montecito mudslide, deputies have conducted increased patrols in the area. Within minutes of the 911 call, deputies located Showell, one of the suspected intruders, fleeing in a vehicle. Dixon, the other suspected intruder, was found “hiding in the bushes alongside the roadway.”

The sheriff’s office said a K-9 team tracked the scent from the window of the home to the patrol car where Showell was detained.

This story was originally published February 2, 2018 at 6:54 PM with the headline "Deputies detain two men in suspected Montecito burglary."