The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office has been awarded grant funding by the United States Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Law Enforcement Mental Health and Wellness Act (LEMHWA) Program. 

The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office plans to use the $123,596 in grant funds to establish a peer support program and an “in-house” support resource for employees and their family members in the event of a professional or personal crisis. 

“The law enforcement profession is a profoundly noble one — but often comes with a cost,”  said Dr. Cherylynn Lee, co-founder of the Peer Support team. “Cumulative stress and symptoms of post-traumatic stress are becoming better recognized within law enforcement as a major component of police work.” 

Lee continued that peer support is a well-recognized best practice for the first responder community that allows for specially trained peers to have a formal role of supporting personnel. 

“Peer support programs have shown to improve emotional and psychological well-being, reduce stress, improve relationships, and improve overall quality of life for first responders,” Lee said. “We are grateful to have secured this funding to offer this resource to members of our department.” 

Law Enforcement Mental Health and Wellness Act funds are used to improve the delivery of and access to mental health and wellness services for law enforcement through the implementation of peer support, training, family resources, suicide prevention and other promising practices for wellness reform. The 2021 LEMHWA program funded projects that develop knowledge, increase awareness of effective mental health and wellness strategies, increase the skills and abilities of law enforcement, and increase the number of law enforcement agencies and relevant stakeholders using peer programs. For more information about the LEMHWA program, please call the COPS Office Response Center at 800-421-6770 or visit the COPS Office website at cops.usdoj.gov .

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Staff Report

Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown swore in seven custody deputies just prior to their graduation ceremony at the Allan Hancock College Public Safety Academy on Friday, July 30.

The seven graduated from the CORE Custody Academy, having completed 220 hours of course instruction. Their instruction included emergency planning in a custody facility, report writing, ethics, investigation procedures, classification of inmates, contraband detection, arrest and control, physical training and direct supervision training.

Graduates are Luis Arreola, Juan Arroyo, Sergio Chavez, Jasmin Cruz, Tristan Fichtner, Erica Pereyra and Christopher Tario.

Chavez was honored as the class valedictorian; Fichtner received the Ron Battles Award for Most Inspirational; and Pererya earned the Leadership Award.

Community members interested in a career in law enforcement or know someone who is, should visit SBSheriff.org to apply.

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A juvenile suspect is in custody for a stabbing another adult male in Buellton on Saturday July 10. The victim was subsequently air-lifted to Santa Barbara Cottage hospital for treatment and is now in stable condition and is expected to make a full recovery, according to Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Deputies.

The incident occurred about 9:45 p.m. when deputies responded to the 100-block of Second Street in Buellton for a fight where a victim was possibly stabbed. When deputies arrived, they discovered the adult male victim who was critically injured with a life-threatening knife wound to his neck. The suspect fled the scene prior to deputies’ arrival. 

Santa Barbara County Air Support and Sheriff’s K9 units responded to area to assist with the search for the suspect, described as a white male wearing a black and blue “Thrasher” t-shirt with black jeans, black backpack with roses on straps.  While they searched for the suspect, deputies requested an Everbridge notification be shared with the public to warn them about the suspect and ask that the public call 911 if they spot him. After several hours of searching, the suspect was not located. Sheriff’s detectives and forensic technicians responded to the scene to assist with the investigation. 

On Monday, July 12, 2021, the juvenile suspect surrendered to detectives at the Santa Maria Juvenile Hall where he is being held for attempted murder.

It was not shared where the juvenile and the victim are from and their ages, nor a motive for the fight. The Star has reached out to the Sheriff’s department to get clarification. Once given this story will be updated.

If anyone has further information about this incident, or video surveillance footage that may have captured portions of the incident or the suspect, they are encouraged to contact the Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Bureau at (805) 681-4150. To leave anonymous information, you can call the tip line at (805)681-4171, or submit information online at sbsheriff.org/home/anonymous-tip.

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Staff Report

National Police Week (May 9 – 15) saw Americans pause to say a collective “thank you” to the men and women who wear or carry the badge.

During the week, the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office thanked its deputies and custody deputies for the work they do, and those in the Sheriff’s Office reflected upon and refreshed their commitment to protect and serve the community, and to honor those peace officers who have laid down their lives in the service of others.

Somber ceremonies were hosted at agencies across the nation where names were read, sometimes from agencies far away, and sometimes from times long ago, like Santa Barbara County jailer George Downing, who died in the line of duty in an on-duty vehicle accident in 1925.

Sadly, the beginning of the week saw several law enforcement officers added to the long list of those who made the supreme sacrifice, including one that resonated with a number of Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s deputies.

The tragic May 10 shooting that took the life of San Luis Obispo Police Detective Luca Benedetti was an especially hard blow for the Sheriff’s Office. Benedetti’s partner, Detective Steve Orozco, who was also wounded in the shootout, is related to a Santa Barbara County custody deputy.

Benedetti graduated from the Allan Hancock College Law Enforcement Academy in a class that included 10 Santa Barbara County sheriff’s deputies.

During their six months of intensive training in the academy, officers and deputies form friendships and bonds that last a lifetime.

When such colleagues are taken from their ranks so violently, prematurely and senselessly, they live on in the hearts of their classmates for the rest of their lives.

“This week we and the people we protect and serve pause to remember the brave men and women of law enforcement who, throughout our nation’s history, have made the ultimate sacrifice in the defense of freedom, justice and the American way of life,” said Sheriff Bill Brown. “May we always remember and honor them for their nobility, bravery and devotion to duty, and may we never forget that, as Americans, we are forever in their debt.”

Detective Benedetti is survived by his wife and two young children. A Gofundme page in honor of Benedetti quickly surpassed its original goal and is now more than $500,000, which will benefit his family. To donate, go to www.gofundme.com/f/detective-luca-benedetti-family-relief-fund.

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The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office is seeking grant funding to provide increased patrolling and enforcement of areas where illegal off-road vehicles are being used. 

The Sheriff’s Office has received a number of complaints about individuals on ATVs, primarily in the Santa Ynez riverbed, and surrounding areas bordering Lompoc who are damaging private property and the environment. They are also violating a number of other state and county ordinances. The Sheriff’s Office is also planning on increased enforcement in the Santa Maria riverbed and the Cuyama Valley. 

The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office applied to the State of California Parks and Recreation Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) 2021/2022 grant program. The preliminary application was submitted Feb. 24. As part of the multi-step application process, there is an opportunity for public comment and feedback before the final application which is due on May 3. From March 2 to April 1, the public can view the online grant application and submit comments. 

To view the application, go to the California State OHV Grants and Cooperative Agreements program at ohv.parks.ca.gov. To make public comments on the application, click on “GRANTS” and then on “On Line Grants Application (OLGA).” Then follow the directions on the menu bar on the left side of the screen. 

This is the eighth year the Sheriff’s Office has applied for grant funding for OHV enforcement in Santa Barbara County.

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Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department detectives are continuing to investigate a reported homicide of a man who was found deceased in the 6200-block of Foxen Canyon Road in Los Olivos on Sunday, March 7.

Sheriff’s dispatch received a call of a single vehicle accident in the area. Fire, Medics and CHP responded to the area and quickly determined that the vehicle had not been involved in a traffic collision and that the solo occupant was deceased. Sheriff’s deputies responded, took over the investigation, closed the roadway, and requested detectives respond. 

“This investigation is ongoing and there is limited information available for release at this early stage. Detectives can confirm that the deceased victim is male who was in a vehicle along the side of the road, and his death is being investigated as a homicide,” according to Raquel Zick, public information officer.

Sheriff’s detectives would like to encourage anyone with information about this case to reach out. To leave an anonymous tip by phone, you can call (805)681-4171. To leave an anonymous tip online, you submit information without trace at www.sbsheriff.org/home/anonymous-tip . These tips are forwarded to Sheriff’s detectives who can follow-up on the information you provide while assuring your anonymity. 

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The Solvang City Council unanimously voted to send a letter to the County of Santa Barbara Board of Supervisors and County Sheriff’s Office to collectively express the Council’s surprise and disappointment with the Sheriff’s Office’s recent announcement proposing substantial increased costs for law enforcement services.

Law enforcement costs are the City’s largest single General Fund expenditure, representing nearly 25 percent of all discretionary fund expenditures, according to the council staff report. Historically, law enforcement services have helped to maintain a very low crime rate in the City of Solvang since 1985. The Sheriff’s current crime stats for 2019 show a 10 percent decline in overall crime with a 36 percent decrease in violent crime and 7 percent decrease in property crime.

The current agreement runs from July 1, 2019 to June 30, 2023.

“There was a change in methodology and it also changed the calculations in how the county calculates the costs from using budgetary numbers to using actual numbers based on two years ago,” said Xenia Bradford, Solvang City Manager. 

The Agreement included provisions for making annual adjustment in compensation for the quantity of law enforcement services and the county would provide that estimation of adjustment before November 1 os each year with final recomputation on or before Jan. 15 of the fiscal year. 

The Sheriff’s not only contract with Solvang but the cities of Buellton, Carpinteria and Goleta. 

“There are some questions to where some of the terms are inconsistent with how the contract is written and the items not fully flushed out with the contract terms,” Bradford said. 

On Nov. 10 the Sheriff’s submitted their estimated increase of 5.5 percent with no data or explanation Bradford reported, and on Jan. 14, 2021 Bradford said the cities were shocked to see a 37 percent increase in annual costs. This last fiscal year the City spent $1.8 million and this year the estimated increase was just under $2.5 million. 

“That’s $700,000 increase,” Councilmember Mark Infanti gasped. 

Bradford said based on preliminary data, the computation for the annual costs was not done within the parameters of the agreement. 

The city is disputing the proposed increase, as are all the contracted cities who are banding together to send a formal notice to the county and the Sheriff’s department and until they can independently verify the data. 

“A lot of the data has not been provided to the cities, and this was dropped on the cities the day before the deadline. This letter is to provide those elected officials with information and the cities are not able to absorb these costs and not even all the information to analyze these costs,” Bradford said. 

They are now working on a weekly basis with the Sheriff’s to resolve the matter, she added. 

The City of Buellton said they saw the largest amount of percentage increase and were facing down just around a million dollar increase. 

“Law enforcement is our biggest expenditure and usually we place that first and then work in all the other costs that need to be incorporated. This amount of increase though is problematic and we haven’t seen the justification for that yet, but the Sheriff’s have been very open and willing to work this out so far,” said Scott Wolfe, City Manager for Buellton. 

Wolfe added they have about a month to work out through the dispute resolution and they hope to accomplish that without having to take any further steps. 

The cities are asking the Sheriff’s to recalculate the charges that are consistent with the terms of each city’s agreement to provide law enforcement; provide the cities with sufficient information to verify confirm any and all cost increases and participate in good faith negotiations to develop amendment to the agreement to prevent being blindsided again. 

The cities are also asking for any cost increases be delayed until next fiscal year.

“The Cities will use this time to independently confirm and validate the information provided by the Sheriff’s Office regarding the methodology that resulted in this year’s dramatic proposed costs increases. This time will also allow all parties the ability to engage in good faith negotiations regarding the adoption of amendments to the Agreements designed to ensure that this situation does not reoccur,” the letter states. 

Two of the five council members are current or former employees of the Sheriff’s department including Jim Thomas who was the former Sheriff for the county. 

Mayor Charlie Uhrig is a current employee of the Sheriff’s department. 

The council also voted to create an Employee of the Quarter Policy that acknowledges employee achievement and as a means to interact with the community. They will be given $100 and a certificate commemorating the occasion and on the city newsletter. 

To watch the entire meeting visit YouTube and search City of Solvang for February 22, 2021. 

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A 30-year-old woman was pronounced dead after being pulled from Lake Cachuma on Sunday afternoon, according to local authorities. 

At approximately 5:12 p.m., Santa Barbara County Fire responded to the Lake Cachuma after a report of a missing woman who was possibly in the water, said Capt. Daniel Bertucelli of SBC Fire. 

They dispatched a water rescue team, two engines and a helicopter as well as Sheriff’s department responded to the scene, Bertucelli said. After searching for some time, a fire captain who was diving found the woman in 20 feet of water. She was brought to the surface where emergency medical care was given, however she was declared dead at the scene. 

The drowning does not appear to be suspicious, according to sheriff’s spokeswoman Raquel Zick who tweeted about the incident. 

The woman’s identity is being withheld until her family has been notified, Zick added.

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The Santa Barbara County Public Health Department will not move forward in reopening expanded personal care service industries at this time due to a concern over higher COVID-19 positivity rates and hospitalizations, according to Dr. Henning Ansorg, Health Officer for Santa Barbara County. 

“We are striking a balance and everyone has to play their part to reduce the spread, COVID-19 is still very much a threat. The stay at home order is still in place and important,” Ansorg said at Friday’s press briefing. 

The increase in recent hospitalizations coupled with ongoing increases in COVID-19 positive cases have led to the County’s decision to pause reopening. 

Personal Care Services that must remain closed include, but are not limited to:

• Estheticians
• Skin Care and Cosmetology services
• Electrology (permanent hair removal)
• Nail Salons
• Body Art Professionals
• Tattoo Parlors
• Piercing Shops
• Massage Therapy (including non-healthcare settings)
• Businesses offering facials, electrolysis, and waxing

“Out of an abundance of caution and for the safety of all community members, particularly our most vulnerable, Public Health leadership has decided to hold on further reopening,” shared Ansorg. “We urge all residents to take this time to evaluate how they can limit their exposure to people outside their homes. This virus will continue to spread unless we take action to stop it.” 

There have been 67 new cases since Thursday, bringing the total positive cases to 2,319, per the county’s status report. There are 306 active cases with241 of those recovering at home, 65 in the hospitals and 17 in ICU. There have been 22 reported deaths attributed to COVID-19, however the county has still not given actual data regarding exact causes of death. Ansorg has said repeatedly that due to HIPAA privacy laws they cannot, however the Star keeps questioning as the underlying causes are important for the community to know. 

Ansorg has said that commonalities in the cases in the hospital are underlying conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, obesity, chronic lung disease and people in the 50’s and 60’s have a higher percentage of infection rates. 

The Star questioned if the higher positivity rates were associated with any of the reopening rallies or the Black Lives Matter rallies, but Ansorg said exact cause and affects are impossible to trace. He said it appeared most infections occur at work or at home when a person is exposed for longer duration of time. 

The Santa Ynez Valley has had 16 total cases, with 12 of those fully recovered. 

Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown reported since nine Sheriff custody deputies tested positive, there have been an additional four today with two inmates also testing positive. 

“We have plans in place to manage this outbreak and address the increases. All staff assigned to the jail are being testing and as of noon today, 114 have been done with more in the coming days,” Brown said.

He said the two inmates have been put in medical isolation, and they are continuing to screen and keep all new inmates separated with 14 days and jail visitation is suspended. 

Friday also marks 100 days since the start of the Stay At Home Order, according to Suzanne Grimmesey of Santa Barbara County Department of Behavioral Wellness. 

Screening and appointments are available between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. at the Solvang Veteran’s Memorial Hall. Those who wish to make an appointment can visit https://lhi.care/covidtesting or call 888-634-1123. The test costs will be billed to health insurance, or will be free. 

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As new sheriff’s deputies or custody deputies begin their careers with the Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Office, they must solemnly swear to support and defend the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of California.

During the swear-in ceremony, we incorporate a badge pinning that is usually done by a loved one.

I always give a speech about the badge that each of us wears or carries as a law enforcement officer. Many of my executive, command and support staff have heard that speech dozens, if not hundreds, of times, but I believe it is a message that bears repeating.

I advise the newly minted deputies that the badge is the most important accoutrement they’ll have as a peace officer. The symbolism of the badge, whether it’s a star-shape or an oval, is always the same. It represents an ancient warrior’s shield – a shield of protection.

The symbolism is two-fold, representing the protection we provide to the community, and the protection that the community provides to us, such as in enhanced penalties for those who would do us harm.

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