Machete-wielding Santa Maria man found hiding in hot tub after attempted carjacking

A Santa Maria man was arrested Friday after he attempted to steal a vehicle and threatened its occupants with a machete, officials said.

Deputies with the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office responded to a report of an attempted carjacking at about 11:30 a.m. Friday at the Point Sal trailhead on Brown Road in Santa Maria.

When authorities arrived, the victims informed them that the would-be carjacker fled through a creek once he heard patrol vehicle sirens, according to a news release from the sheriff's office.

A local resident told authorities that the man came onto his property near the creek bed, and entered the resident's home.

Officials established a perimeter around the property, the release said, and later found the man hiding in an old hot tub.

Brandon Jonathan Morales-Gomez, 20, of Santa Maria, was arrested on suspicion of carjacking, robbery, theft of a vehicle, burglary and brandishing a weapon, the release said.

Morales-Gomez was booked into Santa Barbara County Jail, and is being held on $100,000 bail.

During a search of the area, deputies located "two knives/machetes" in the creek bed that were consistent with those described by the victims, the release said.

California Highway Patrol, Santa Maria police and Guadalupe police also assisted in taking the man into custody.

This story was originally published June 22, 2018 at 5:31 PM with the headline "Machete-wielding Santa Maria man found hiding in hot tub after attempted carjacking."