SANTA BARBARA COUNTY — One of the most significant realities facing convicted criminal miscreants who may have, because of either having committed a relatively minor offense or having a slender criminal record, been granted the right to return to civilized society under specific terms of probation, is that they are ordered by the court to adhere to those terms or face summary re-arrest and penal confinement with very little additional due process.
That reality of potential re-arrest certainly became apparent to a half-dozen individuals residing in Santa Barbara County on March 29th during what was described by Santa Maria Police Department spokesman Sgt. Daniel Rios as “a sweep of known gang members” in his jurisdiction.
Working in concert with the Santa Barbara County Probation Department, SMPD officers worked a long day that began “in the early morning” and went well into the afternoon as they conducted compliance checks on more than 20 individuals throughout the city.
Rios was careful to indicate that “many probationers were found to be in compliance with the terms and conditions of their probation,” while reporting the arrests of Elias Vargas, 20, Gil Giovanny Everardo, 18, and Marco Antonio Valencia, 19, each of whom violated their probation terms.
In addition to the three adults, three minors, including two 17-year-olds and one 16-year-old were also arrested for violations ranging from possession of weapons to drug paraphernalia.
The three teens were transported to Santa Barbara County Juvenile Detention Center, while the three adults were booked into Santa Barbara County Jail.
