JUAN CAMARENA is a 42-year resident of Santa Barbara County. He served America honorably in the United States Marine Corps, and he’s protected our communities for over 23 years in the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office.
Juan Camarena was born in Mexico and moved to Santa Maria with his family as a young child. He attended Santa Maria High School and learned the value of hard work and community service, helping his father and grandfather work in the fields picking crops. After High School, Juan joined the United States Marine Corps and served our country for four years on active duty, deploying to Somalia and the Middle East. After 2001 Juan continued to serve in the US Marine Corps Reserve and was honorably discharged in 2004. Shortly thereafter, he was hired by the Santa Barbara County Sheriff as a correctional officer. He graduated from the Ventura County Sheriff’s Criminal Training Center in 1999.
Juan has served Santa Barbara County for decades. He started his career on patrol as a Deputy Sheriff, rose to a Narcotics Detective in the Narcotics Bureau and then the Criminal Investigation Division. Later, Juan was promoted to Sergeant, then Patrol Supervisor at the Carpinteria Sheriff’s Station and Santa Maria Sheriff’s Station before being assigned to the Santa Barbara County Human Resource Bureau as the Human Resources Sergeant. Next, he was promoted to Lieutenant and became the Human Resources Lieutenant.
More recently, Juan has served on the Isla Vista Foot Patrol as station commander, and now he manages the Criminal Investigation Bureau and serves as a SWAT Team manager. Juan also serves on the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department’s technology committee.
A native Spanish speaker, Juan Camarena holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Public Administration and a master’s degree in Communications. He happily lives in Santa Barbara County with his wife and kids.