Armed Robbery at Sizzler Restaurant Leads to One Arrest

August 20, 2007 - Goleta

Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Deputies arrested a man suspected of being involved in a robbery at a local sizzler restaurant hours earlier. A tip lead Deputies to a suspicious subject at a Toyota dealership across the street from the Sizzler. The man arrested was reportedly inside the dealership where Deputies later found an undisclosed amount of cash, a firearm and a ski mask possibly associated with the robbery.

At approximately 9:28 am this morning (8-20-07) Sheriff’s Deputies responded to the Sizzler restaurant in the 5500 block of Hollister Ave. in Goleta for a report of a man with a gun. The first responding deputies arrived several minutes later and learned that several employees arriving to work at the sizzler were confronted by a masked gunman inside. One of the employees was held by the gunman inside of the restaurant for a short time, soon after all four escaped and called 911.

The Sheriff’s Department established a perimeter around the restaurant and closed Hollister Ave. from South Kellogg to Ward Drive for the public’s safety. Businesses surrounding the Sizzler Restaurant were also evacuated until it could be determined if the gunman was still inside.

Sheriff’s Detectives interviewed the victim employees while the Sheriff’s department SWAT team moved into place to search for the suspect. Observant employees at the Toyota car dealership across from the restaurant noticed an individual walk inside the dealership and come out wearing different clothing. Toyota employees notified authorities of this behavior and detectives were dispatched to the scene. As detectives were getting a description of the suspect, the suspect emerged near the dealership. Deputies in the area converged on the suspect and he was taken into custody without incident. Detectives recovered an undisclosed amount of cash, a firearm and a ski mask inside the dealership where the suspect had been seen.

Based on the information gathered during the investigation and based on the proximity of the suspect to where items associated with the robbery were found, 42 year old Bahram Jabaroghli was arrested and booked into Santa Barbara County Jail on charges of Robbery (211 PC), Assault with a deadly weapon (245 PC), and False Imprisonment (236 PC). He is currently being held on $1,000,000 (one million dollars) bail. Jabaroghli is currently a resident of Pasadena.

This investigation is ongoing. Sheriff’s Forensic Investigators continue to process the crime scene at the Sizzler Restaurant and the Toyota Dealership for physical evidence. There is no further information available at this time.

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