Free to Roam: Santa Barbara County doesn’t always pursue active felony warrants

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As of early April, more than 1,800 people are wanted on active felony warrants in Santa Barbara County, according to data from the Sheriff’s Office. 

Fifth District Supervisor Steve Lavagnino expressed concern over this during the Board of Supervisors’ April 1 deliberation regarding the Northern Branch Jail expansion, and he told the Sun that he will bring attention to the topic again after budget hearings happen this summer. 

“I’m starting to get frustrated that I continue to bring this up whenever we talk about the jail, and everybody just kind of gives me a glazed-over look, like, ‘Yeah, well, we got bigger fish to fry,’ or ‘that’s not our problem,’ or ‘we don’t have the money to do it,’” he said. 

From discussions he’s had with law enforcement, Lavagnino said he knows there is no apprehension team that works on pursuing active felony warrants. Instead, he explained, many of the people wanted on felony warrants walk free until they either commit another crime or run into law enforcement for some other reason. 

“As a policymaker, I just think that’s a mistake,” Lavagnino said. “Now, everybody says it’s because there’s a lack of resources and that they would need additional funds to do that. I need to know what that’s going to cost because, to me, this is a priority.”

According to Santa Barbara County Undersheriff Craig Bonner, the number of felony warrants includes two types: arrest warrants, which are actively investigated by detectives in ongoing criminal cases, and bench warrants, which are issued by a court for reasons such as failing to appear or violating probation terms. 

Prior to the Great Recession, the Sheriff’s Office had a dedicated felony fugitive investigator who would look into active felony warrants, Bonner said. But now, it’s a matter of whether a patrol deputy or officer has extra time to look into these cases. 

“The reality is that because of the staffing challenges, and, quite frankly, the cuts to our local law enforcement resources, that doesn’t happen as much as it used to,” he said. “It’s just going to take additional resources dedicated to that to make that a reality, to get folks out there more frequently.”

In comparison to California counties of similar size, Santa Barbara County’s number of active felony warrants might not seem significant. For example, Monterey County has more than 3,000 active felony warrants, according to the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office. 

However, unlike Santa Barbara County, Monterey County collaborates with other local agencies to pursue active felony warrants, according to Cmdr. Andres Rosas from the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office. 

Supervisor Lavagnino said that while he appreciates understanding how other counties deal with felony warrants, he doesn’t feel that comparing numbers is helpful.

“I don’t live in Monterey County, or Fresno County, or Kern County,” he said. “I’m worried about the folks that live in Santa Maria, the folks that live in Santa Barbara, and the folks that live in Guadalupe.”

Santa Barbara County District Attorney John Savrnoch expressed a similar sentiment, noting that any number of active felony warrants is significant. 

“Doing that comparison doesn’t satisfy anybody if they’re the victim of the crime and can’t get restitution and doesn’t satisfy anybody if an individual is out there that subsequently commits and violates another crime,” Savrnoch said. “Also, I don’t think we should ever accept that we’re doing marginally better than somebody else. We have very high expectations in Santa Barbara County about being safe and about being free from victimization.”

Felonies in California are typically serious crimes, Savrnoch said, adding that if someone has been accused of committing one, it’s essential for law enforcement to bring them in and hold them accountable. He noted that felony crimes include murder, rape, and armed robbery, and he explained that if a person poses a serious threat to anyone’s safety, then law enforcement will actively work to arrest them and bring them before the court.

“It’s important to get restitution,” he said. “It’s important to exact changes in their behavior so they don’t continue to commit crimes. I mean, bringing everybody in is what we’re designed to do. We are not filing felony charges unless we feel there is sufficient evidence to prove a felony occurred.”

Lavagnino said that in the coming months he wants to invite the Sheriff’s Office, District Attorney’s Office, and local law enforcement agencies to present to the Board of Supervisors. He wants more clarification on the number of warrants, what they mean, and what law enforcement agencies would need to be more proactive in pursuing felony warrants. 

“No one’s ever brought this to our attention and said, ‘Hey, here’s something you guys should be thinking about, and we need this X amount of funding to do this,’” Lavagnino said. “It doesn’t seem like it’s really been a priority, and so, that’s what’s concerning to me is that I seem to be the only one.”

Undersheriff Bonner said that in a “perfect world,” every agency in the county would have the funds and resources to dedicate a team of people to pursue all of the active felony warrants. 

“The problem is we have fewer deputies today than we did when I started 31 years ago,” he said. “The work has gotten nothing but harder, takes longer, and yet we have fewer people to do it with. Ultimately, if we really want to take this seriously, the county Board of Supervisors and the city councils have got to provide the funding that’s necessary to have dedicated resources out there doing it.”

Reach Staff Writer Emma Montalbano at emontalbano@newtimesslo.com.

This article appears in May 15-25, 2025.