Lompoc, Calif. – The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office welcomed 10 new Custody Deputies upon their graduation from the Allan Hancock CORE Custody Deputy Academy. The Custody Deputies were sworn-in by Sheriff Brown on Wednesday, May 22, 2024, ahead of the graduation ceremony. On Thursday, May 23, 2024, Custody Chief Vincent Wasilewski gave the keynote speech for the CORE Custody Academy Class #16 that included Custody Deputies Brian Bautista, Jesus Cabrera Jr., Raymundo Estrada, Luis Lopez-Zarate, Joaquin Quintero, Erik Sheets, Dylan Stockton, Nathan Valdovinos, Alex Vasquez, and Matthew Woods.

During his keynote speech, Chief Wasilewski told the graduates that the most important thing to hold on to in the years ahead is empathy. He said, “With empathy, we can touch the lives of everyone we meet and provide our services with the humanity and compassion that our fellow community members deserve.”

The class of 10 recruits completed 260 hours of instruction. Some of the instruction included emergency planning in a custody facility, report writing, ethics, investigation procedures, classification of inmates, contraband detection, arrest and control, physical training, and Direct Supervision training.

Custody Deputy Brian Bautista earned Class Valedictorian, Custody Deputy Raymundo Estrada was presented the Santa Maria Elks Lodge Leadership Award, and Custody Deputy Joaquin Quintero was presented the Ron Battles award from the Deputy Sheriff’s Association.

If you are interested in career in law enforcement or know someone who is, please visit our website at SBSheriff.org to apply.