Anonymous
By the Santa Barbara County Probation Department
On November 9, 2022 at approximately 6:00 pm, five youth in custody at the Susan J. Gionfriddo Juvenile Justice Center (JJC) in Santa Maria engaged in a disturbance in one unit of the JJC.
These youth destroyed property inside the unit, barricaded themselves on an upper tier, and attempted to escape by breaking windows.
Santa Barbara County Probation personnel attempted to resolve the situation but were unable to secure cooperation from the youth. Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office Special Operations Response Team (SORT) was requested to respond to the facility.
After additional attempts by probation staff to resolve the situation through verbal communication were unsuccessful, SORT removed the youth from the unit.
The five youth involved were then placed into secure cells under probation custody.
One probation staff member sustained minor injuries and was taken to the hospital for treatment. There were no injuries to youth.
“Desperado…
why don’t you come to your senses
come down from your fences…