HEMET: Wanted felon armed with rifle arrested after foot pursuit, fight with officers

HEMET – A man was arrested early this morning for several weapons charges after he led Hemet Police Officers on a brief foot chase Sept. 29. The incident began as a traffic stop in the area of Acacia Avenue and Girard Street.

After first running from and then fighting with officers and Hemet PD’s K9 ‘Jack,’ Kenneth Alex Hurtado, 20, of San Jacinto, was taken into custody. He was later booked on seven felony charges.

The incident began just after midnight when a Hemet Police K-9 officer noticed that a Chevrolet in front of him was driving with expired registration. Based on the vehicle code violation the officer conducted a traffic enforcement stop. The Chevrolet yielded and pulled into a nearby church parking lot.

As the officer was approaching the vehicle he looked inside and immediately recognized the back passenger as Hurtado, a wanted felon. The officer also saw that Hurtado had a rifle case on his lap with a large capacity magazine protruding from it. As a convicted felon, Hurtado is prohibited from owning or being in possession of any firearms or ammunition.

When the officer ordered the occupants of the vehicle to put their hands up where he could see them, Hurtado leaped from the vehicle and fled on foot.

Officers and K9 ‘Jack’ pursued Hurtado, catching up with him just a few houses away. Once they caught up with him, “Hurtado fought with the officers and the K-9; however, he was ultimately taken into custody,” according to a release from Hemet officials.

Neither the officers nor Jack were injured during the foot pursuit or arrest.

Once he was safely in custody, officers discovered the rifle case that had been on Hurtado’s lap contained a fully loaded Ruger Mini 14 semi-automatic rifle, several high-capacity magazines, and nearly 150 rounds of ammunition for the rifle.

“Additionally, Hurtado had a fully loaded, high-capacity magazine for the rifle in his pocket when he was arrested,” according to officials.

After he was arrested, officers transported Hurtado to a local hospital for medical clearance necessary for booking and he was later transported to the Riverside County Jail.

A jail record search revealed Hurtado was booked on suspicion of resisting arrest with violence, being a felon in possession of a firearm, a felon in possession of ammunition, possession of high-capacity magazines, violation of parole and two prior state prison enhancements.

Hurtado is being held without bail and is scheduled to be seen at an unspecified court Oct 3.

 

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Trevor Montgomery spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg in an off-duty accident.

During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations, including the Robert Presley Detention Center, the Southwest Station in Temecula, the Hemet Station, and the Lake Elsinore Station, along with many other locations.