Santa Barbara, Calif. – On Sunday, December 31, 2023, at approximately 8:10 AM, an inmate jumped from the second floor of a housing unit at the Main Jail Intake and Release Center in Santa Barbara. Custody staff entered the multi-person housing unit and began assessing the inmate. Custody deputies and WellPath medical staff immediately began CPR and applied an automated external defibrillator (AED).

County Fire and American Medical Response (AMR) were summoned and responded to the jail facility. Paramedics continued life-saving measures and transported the inmate to Cottage Hospital for advanced life-saving efforts, where he later succumbed to his injuries.

Although this appears to be an apparent suicide, the Sheriff’s Office is conducting a thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding this incident. Investigators from Criminal Investigations, Corners Bureau, and Administrative Investigations responded to conduct multiple investigations. The Coroner’s Office will conduct further investigation to determine the cause and manner of this death.

The decedent has been identified as Scott Powers, 61-years-old from Santa Barbara.