RIVERSIDE: Pursuit leads to recovery of “significant amount of narcotics,” officials say

Officers arrested Maurice Ruffin after a vehicle pursuit and wreck that led to the recovery of a large amount of narcotics and cash.

RIVERSIDE – Riverside police officers arrested a man after a vehicle pursuit and wreck that led to a search warrant and recovery of a “significant amount of narcotics,” according to Riverside Police Officials.

The incident began in the area of Magnolia Avenue and Overland Street Sunday, Oct. 23 when Riverside police officers attempted to conduct a traffic enforcement stop at about 9 a.m. The driver, later identified as Maurice Monroe Ruffin, 51, of Michigan, was leaving a nearby motel when the officers attempted to make the traffic stop.

Ruffin refused to yield to the officers’ emergency lights and siren and fled at a high rate of speed, at which time officers initiated a pursuit.

As Ruffin fled from the officers his vehicle smashed into a traffic signal at the intersection of Magnolia Avenue and Jefferson Street. After the violent collision Ruffin’s vehicle ended up on the Ramona High School football field, where he fled from the vehicle into the school.

Officers quickly established a perimeter and Ruffin was eventually found hiding under the bleachers. He was taken into custody without further incident.

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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.