The Santa Barbara County Sheriff Department has raised its guard in the community of Tanglewood and wants residents there to do the same.

Due to a “notable increase” of vandalism calls, thefts and burglaries in the neighborhood southwest of Santa Maria in recent months, the department is beefing up patrols and probation sweeps, said department spokesman Sgt. Erik Raney.

The most recent incident happened Thursday night in the 3500 block of Rosales Court.

Three individuals in a dark-colored vehicle are believed to have shot at a residence about 11:15 p.m., Raney said.

Several people were inside the home at the time but no injuries were reported.

Several bullets struck the exterior stucco of the residence, and they appear to have been fired from a small-caliber handgun, Raney said.

The motive is unknown but investigators were asking that anyone who has information about the incident call detectives at 934-6170.

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“It's in the best interest of those residents to cooperate with law enforcement to create a partnership,” Raney said.

The department has increased street patrols, gang enforcement and criminal investigations and organized parole/probation sweeps in Tanglewood, Raney said. The latest sweep netted nine arrests on Feb. 8.

“We typically don't have our gang-enforcement team doing routine-patrol work,” he said. “Usually they go in with target enforcement dealing with specific problems.”

The department has identified only one known gang in the Tanglewood area, which calls itself “Tangas.”

A gang is defined as two or more people with a common name who conspire and commit crimes in the name of the gang, he said.

Raney could not confirm whether the reported crimes in Tanglewood are tied to gangs.

“There have been occasions in the past when we have spikes in criminal activities,” he said, adding that the reasons vary.

Sometimes these spikes occur when there are “warring factions” between gangs in one area, or when gang leaders are released into the community and “reinvigorate” the gang, he said.

That's why the department is asking citizen to report suspicious activity and known criminal behavior, and to cooperate with investigators when a crime happens, he said.

“There can be a notable decrease in crime when the community and law enforcement work together to combat and prevent criminal activity,” he said.

Luis Ernesto Gomez can be reached at 739-2218, or lgomez

@santamariatimes.com

Feb. 17, 2007