Five youths are back in custody after an attempted escape from Juvenile Hall that resulted in destroyed property and minor injuries to a member of the Santa Barbara County Probation Department staff, a department spokeswoman said.
About 6 p.m. Thursday, the five youths created a disturbance in one unit of the Susan J. Gionfriddo Juvenile Justice Center off Foster Road in Santa Maria, said Karyn Milligan, public information officer for the Probation Department.
Milligan said the youths destroyed property inside the unit, barricaded themselves on an upper tier and attempted to escape by breaking out windows.
Probation Department personnel attempted to resolve the situation but the youths refused to cooperate, so the County Sheriff’s Office Special Operations Response Team was asked to respond.
After Probation Department staff made additional attempts to resolve the situation verbally without success, members of the Special Operations Response Team removed the youths from the unit, Milligan said.
The five youths were then placed into secure cells under Probation Department custody.
None of the youths was injured, but the Probation Department staff member who sustained minor injuries was taken to a hospital for treatment, Milligan said.
