Mario Delgado
SANTA BARBARA COUNTY — When next year’s Parents of the Year nominations are announced, it’s doubtful if 34-year-old Francine Correa and 35-year-old Mario Delgado will be among those mentioned.
Hurting their chances for such an honor, according to Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department Public Information Officer Kelly Hoover, the two Santa Maria residents “abandoned their two minor children” early in the evening of January 11th when they attempted to evade apprehension by deputies pursuant to their alleged “violation of their AB109 Community Supervision conditions.”
Francine Correa
Their poor parenting instincts surfaced when detectives attached to the SBSD Special Investigations Bureau and Santa Barbara County Probation Officers arrived at their residence with search warrants in hand.
As soon as he spotted the deputies, Delgado tried to make himself scarce by fleeing the scene, running out of the house only to find himself surrounded by uniforms, badges, and guns, whereupon he was promptly taken into custody. At that point, deputies entered the home in search of Correa, who was nowhere to be found.
Deputies then called a Santa Maria Police Department K-9 team into service while sending out a reverse 911 alert to local residents indicating that an active search for a wanted suspect was taking place.
The ensuing investigation indicated that Correa had fled the residence just as deputies first arrived and was now at a nearby residential location. With the K-9 team sniffing her out, Correa was discovered “hiding in a garage.”
As she was being taken into custody, Correa “kicked one of the deputies several times,” but was ultimately subdued and transported to Santa Barbara County Jail.
Delgado—apparently no more compliant to being taken into custody than Correa—was transported to SBCOJ where he was discovered “attempting to smuggle 0.5 grams of methamphetamine into the jail,” compounding the initial probation warrant violation with additional charges of bringing a controlled substance into a custody facility. For her part, Correa was booked on the probation warrant and for battery on a peace officer.
Child Welfare Services reported to the scene to take protective custody of the two children left behind by their parents.
Photos: Courtesy Santa Barbara County Jail Booking
