KCBX s Rachel Showalter reports.
The U.S. Department of Justice recognizes mental illness as a major issue among inmates. In 2015, the Stepping Up Initiative was formed to help reduce the number of people with mental illnesses in jail, instead connecting them with resources and treatment.
Santa Barbara County joined the Stepping Up Initiative in 2016 and local leaders meet every two months to report on relevant projects and collaborate about how to move forward.
Kevin Huddle is a Commander with the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office and the Department Coordinator for the Stepping Up Initiative.
He said over the past several years, the Sheriff’s Office has worked to identify key moments when law enforcement can intercept someone experiencing a mental health crisis, divert them away from the criminal justice system and connect them with the necessary resources.
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SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. – A San Luis Obispo man was arrested Tuesday afternoon at the Chumash Casino after he was found unconscious in the casino parking garage.
The Santa Barbara County Sheriff s Office responded to the casino around 2:45 p.m. Tuesday after receiving a report of a man unconscious with drug paraphernalia on his lap.
When deputies arrived the 27-year-old man was awake and being detained by casino security.
Deputies searched the man s vehicle and found an illegally modified high-power rifle, a handgun, loaded high-capacity magazines, and hundreds of rounds of ammunition. They also found a loaded pistol that was tucked under the driver seat of the vehicle. That pistol was found to be stolen out of Humboldt County, the sheriff s office said.
Deputies arrest San Luis Obispo man at Chumash Casino
Santa Barbara County Sheriff s Office
and last updated 2021-07-14 20:27:49-04
Santa Barbara County Sheriff s deputies arrested a San Luis Obispo man for numerous weapons and narcotics charges on Tuesday.
Deputies say they responded to the Chumash Casino parking garage at approximately 2:47 p.m., for a report of a person who had been unconscious, with drug paraphernalia on his lap.
When deputies arrived, they say they found 27-year-old Jacob Southard awake and being detained by Casino security.
Deputies say when they searched Southard s vehicle, they found a handgun, loaded high capacity magazines, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, and an illegally modified high-power rifle. Deputies also discovered a pistol that was reported stolen out of Humboldt County which was loaded and tucked under the driver s seat. Southard was also found to be in possession of narcotics paraphernalia, prescription medication, heroin, and methampheta
Following a five-day search, which involved more than a dozen agencies from across California and nearly 300 volunteers, Pleasanton Police Department (PPD) and its allied agencies are further scaling down operations to locate missing runner, Philip Kreycik, 37.
Marking the last fully operational day of an exhaustive search, today consisted of re-doubling efforts and adding new sections, which included the area in Sunol canyon where âcries for helpâ had been reported. Unfortunately, during todayâs search, a member of the search and rescue team suffered a minor injury.
At this time, no new evidence has been recovered.
âWe appreciate the Kreycik familyâs cooperation and patience during this difficult time, and we have the best resources here to help in both the search efforts and the investigation,â said Lieutenant Erik Silacci. âEvery day, search and rescue crews and countless volunteers have been working nonstop to find Philip, and we all want to
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