The Mesa, a stretch of Santa Barbara that boasts beautiful parks, houses and views of the ocean, is a home to many City College students, faculty and an increasing amount of violent crime.

On July 31, a home invasion occurred on the 100 block of Oceano Ave., located directly next to City College’s West campus. Three suspects entered an apartment and, with the use of a handgun, assaulted and robbed the 23-year-old victim living there.

The suspects made off with $200 and two ounces of marijuana, and left the victim badly injured.

The suspects were named as Carl Douglas Whaley Jr., Dominique Xavier Battle, and Miles Mims.

At the time of the robbery, Whaley and Mims were enrolled for fall semester at City College, according to the college’s Public Information Officer Joan Galvan.

SBPD arrested Battle on Aug. 1 during a traffic stop. Also taken into custody during the stop was Gina Mead. Police believe Mead, also enrolled at City College at the time, drove the three men to commit the crime.

Mead and Battle are both being held in the county jail, with bail set at $100,000. Police are charging them with assault with a deadly weapon, conspiracy, robbery and burglary.

Battle’s public Facebook account contains a picture of him brandishing what appears to be a handgun.

The following Tuesday, Aug. 4, police arrested Mims during a traffic stop in Santa Barbara. He was taken into custody and booked with the same charges as Mead and Battle.

A few weeks later on Aug. 29, U.S. marshals tracked down and arrested Whaley, the final suspect, in his Artesia home, located in the Los Angeles area. Police considered Whaley armed and dangerous, but he was taken into custody without any conflict, and also charged.

The SBPD declined to comment on the case, citing an ongoing investigation.

The Channels was able to confirm through an anonymous source on the football team that Mims, Whaley, and Battle all were involved with the football program at City College. According to the source, “Domo” Battle was supposed to be a starting defensive end for the fall season.

The source wished to remain anonymous for fear of less playing time.

Head coach Craig Moropoulos did not return a request for comment.

Statistics obtained from the SBPD show that during the month of July, when the robbery occurred, police responded to four additional burglaries in the general Mesa area.

For statistical purposes, the SBPD divides Santa Barbara into 78 different sections, or “beats”. The Mesa area falls into beats 16, 17, and 18.

Beat 17 runs along Oceano Ave. and borders City College’s West campus, making it the closest beat to campus. Its boundary to the north is Cliff Dr., and it runs west to Santa Cruz Blvd. Since the start of fall semester on Aug. 24, police have responded to 14 crimes in beat 17, two of which were grand theft.

Over the summer, police responded to 17 burglaries, 12 grand thefts, and two robberies on the Mesa (beats 16, 17, 18), including the robbery on July 31.

Matt Berger, a City College student who lives on Oceano, is starting to feel unsafe in the neighborhood.

“I feel like people are shady around here,” said Berger.

In addition to hearing “random explosions” and a noticeable increase in police presence, Berger says he has heard of a string of stabbings around the area.

“I never know at any moment who is going to rob me or stab me,” he said.