Two K-9 teams and Santa Barbara County Air Support assisted in the arrest of an inmate who escaped from the county Main Jail on July 6—the second escape the jail’s seen in 2022 so far.
The jail’s first escape occurred on March 27 when 23-year-old Joshua Camarillo-Sanchez—a Santa Maria resident—got out of jail with the help of an accomplice waiting in a getaway car. He was found three days later in a San Luis Obispo motel, according to a March report from the Sheriff’s Office.
In July, Santa Barbara resident Nicholas Erickson—booked into the jail on June 18 on suspicion of burglary, vandalism, vehicle theft, loitering, obstruction, grand theft, and committing a crime while released on bail—escaped, placing the Main Jail into an immediate lockdown and alerting nearby patrols to secure the area, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
“County Air Support responded to the area with Air 50, a Cessna 206 airplane, and coordinated the search with deputies on the ground,” officials said in a statement. “While they were searching, a resident in the 4600 block of Sierra Madre reported seeing a suspicious subject in the area.”
Deputies closed in and Air Support tracked Erickson working his way through brush toward Oak Glen Drive in Santa Barbara. Sheriff’s Deputy Phillip Farely and his K-9, Odin, found Erickson—who didn’t surrender and attempted to flee, officials continued.
“Deputy Farley deployed K-9 Odin who tumbled down a hill and fell from an 8-by-10-foot drop onto a sidewalk before apprehending Erickson,” according to Sheriff’s officials.
Erickson was re-arrested and booked in connection with additional charges of escape, obstruction, and harming a police dog. County Deputy District Attorney Heather Trapnell told the Sun that Erickson is in the arraignment stage with his next hearing on July 20.
“He has a whole new charge because escape is a crime in and of itself. If convicted, he would serve additional time,” she said. “We [at the District Attorney’s Office] don’t have any role in security in the jail, but if someone does escape we will pursue those charges to ensure there’s additional punishment for that.”
Sheriff’s Office Public Information Officer Raquel Zick told the Sun via email that custody staff are conducting a thorough and ongoing investigation into the escape.
“The method of escape and details that compromise jail security are not available for release,” she said.
Zick didn’t respond with more information regarding previous jail escapes and historical statistics before the Sun’s deadline.
This article appears in Jul 14-21, 2022.
