Parolee drop off site in Carpinteria disputed

Carpinteria Police Chief Mike Perkins says a claim that a release program from Ventura County drops parolees at Via Real and Santa Monica Road is not happening.

Perkins is a Lieutenant with the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s department and is assigned as the city’s Chief of Police.

The matter was before the City Council Monday evening in a brief discussion.

A nearby resident, Celinda del Carmen said a man, wanted by police, was chased through her yard on July 27. At the time she was with her three year old child. That led her to question what was happening in her neighborhood. Del Carmen made a social media post that read, “The State Parole of Oxnard works in conjunction with the Santa Barbara County. The Santa Barbara County Probation is paying for hotel nights at the Motel 6. This is a common occurrence Monday through Friday.”

Chief Perkins spoke to the council Monday and said “I have spoken to the director down at State Parole in Oxnard and the Santa Barbara County Probation Department. Nobody at those entities have any knowledge about a protocol where parolees are dropped off anywhere in the city of Carpinteria.”

Perkins is looking for witnesses who can verify some of the claims that have been made about the parolee issue.

“If anybody ever does see something along those lines or see something suspicious the best way to get a quick resolution is to call 911 and get one of the local law enforcement officers out there to establish what is actually happening,” said Perkins.

He called the intersection of Via Real and Santa Monica Road is busy “all day and all night” and sometimes the contacts made by the Sheriff’s department ends with “a foot pursuit or some other kind of elevated level of force.”

Councilman Fred Shaw was concerned about and “uptick” in burglaries “that sort of thing” in that area. The Sheriff’s department is researching the crime statistics.

Mayor Gregg Carty says he has been contacted several times about this particular area and crime issues. Carty said the “buzz is out in the community.”