Full Notification

Today the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office bid farewell to three long-serving employees who had retired this year, said goodbye to a K-9 member of the organization, and welcomed ten new employees at a special ceremony held at Earl’s Place at the Earl Warren Showgrounds in Santa Barbara.  Sheriff’s personnel, as well as family and friends of the new hires, applauded as each employee was handed a certificate of appointment by Sheriff Bill Brown.  Three of the new hires, a Sheriff’s Deputy, Custody Deputy and the Chief Custody Deputy, were sworn in and presented with badges after taking the traditional Oath of Office.

At the beginning of the ceremony, the Sheriff acknowledged several employees who recently retired, including Commander Julie McCammon, who is only the second female in the history of the Sheriff’s Office to serve as an Acting Chief Deputy Sheriff.  Commander McCammon started working for the Sheriff’s Office as an intern in 1984.  She wrote a grant for the department’s Crime Prevention Bureau that was used to build the McGruff program. She was hired as an employee the following year and became a corrections officer. After attending the law enforcement academy she became a full-time Sheriff’s Deputy.  Commander McCammon most recently served as Acting Chief Deputy Sheriff in charge of Custody Operations.  She is a part of the McCammon family, which has a rich Santa Barbara County Sheriff history.  She is married to a Sheriff’s Deputy Sergeant and her brother-in-law is also a Sheriff’s Sergeant.

Sheriff Brown acknowledged and thanked Sheriff’s Deputy Jenny Stetson, who was hired as a patrol deputy in 2002 after having served for four years as a police officer with the Guadalupe Police Department. During her time with the Sheriff’s Office she served as a patrol deputy and field training officer, but her career was sadly cut short by an injury that resulted in a medical retirement. 

Sheriff Brown also thanked K-9 Gango for his 7 ½ years of service to the Sheriff’s Office by presenting him with a large rawhide bone. Gango was partnered with Senior Deputy Patrick Hayes and will remain with Senior Deputy Hayes and his family to live out and enjoy the rest of his days. 

The next part of the ceremony welcomed ten new employees to the Sheriff’s Office.

The Sheriff presented certificates of appointment to three new Communications Dispatchers: Lauren Edie, Jonathan Sillas and Kathy Del Mercado.  He also welcomed two new Administrative Office Professionals: Susan Campbell and Delaney Loes.  Jason Kamiya was welcomed as a new Park Ranger I Grounds, and Salvador Vargas as a new Social Worker who will work in the Jail.

Sheriff Brown swore in Saul Diaz, Jr. of Santa Maria as a Custody Deputy, and Jaycee Hunter as a Sheriff’s Deputy.  Deputy Hunter is a familiar face to the Santa Barbara County law enforcement community, having worked as a Santa Barbara Police Officer in a variety of assignments the past 29 years.  Deputy Hunter also worked as a 911 Dispatcher prior to being hired as a Santa Barbara Police Officer.

At the conclusion of the ceremony new Chief Custody Deputy Sheriff Vincent Wasilewski received a warm welcome from the audience, which included members of his new Sheriff’s Office family.  His wife, Sue Wasilewski, had the honor of pinning on his new Chief Deputy badge and insignia.  Chief Wasilewski comes to the Sheriff’s Office from Syracuse, New York, where he recently retired as Assistant Chief Custody Deputy with the Onandaga County Sheriff’s Office.  Chief Wasilewski has 34 years of corrections experience and is recognized by the American Jail Association as a Certified Jail Manager.  He is also a certified Police/Corrections instructor and an Accreditation Assessor in New York State.  Chief Wasilewski received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from Columbia College of Missouri and is a graduate of the New York State Law Enforcement Executive Institute. 

Chief Wasileski was chosen for the Chief Custody Deputy position after a comprehensive and competitive selection process.  He will be responsible for the day-to-day operations of all Sheriff’s Office custodial facilities. He will also lead the Custody Branch through the process of building the new Northern Branch Jail and integrating its operation with the existing south county jail facilities.

Chief Wasilewski said he is ready for the new challenge and thrilled at the opportunity to live in such a beautiful place. At the ceremony today he said, “For 34 years I served my former community and now I am going to lay my roots down here and serve my new community in the best and most honorable way I can.”

The Sheriff’s Office welcomes all of our new employees and wishes them a great career with the Sheriff’s Office.  We will also miss those who are leaving our organization and wish them well in the next chapter of their lives.

Sheriff Brown said, “Today’s ceremony highlights the dynamic nature of the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office. With more than 650 full-time employees, over 100 part-timers and more than 100 volunteers, our organization is in an almost constant state of change. This is bittersweet phenomenon. We are sorry to see such fine people leave our ranks, but we welcome and have confidence in those who take their place after our rigorous selection processes. I couldn’t be prouder than I am to lead such an outstanding group of men and women so dedicated to carrying on our tradition of Keeping the Peace since 1850.”