When deputies from the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office rolled up to a fire at the Winepress Church on Aug. 23, they found 19-year-old Gage Rowdy Tuttle.
According to a release from the Sheriff’s Office, while speaking with Tuttle “[deputies] learned that the man actually started the fire.”
Heavy smoke was billowing from a structure behind the church, located 896 Cambria Ave. in Santa Maria. According to the release, deputies saw Tuttle standing in front of the fire. During their conversation with Tuttle, they decided to book him into Santa Barbara County jail in association with arson, vandalism, and hate crimes.
Deputies said that Santa Barbara County firefighters were able to put out the blaze.
This article appears in Sep 5-12, 2019.