WILDOMAR: Deputies pursue, arrest man who stole a sheriff’s vehicle
WILDOMAR – Deputies found themselves having to pursue one of their own patrol vehicles after a man allegedly stole the marked police car Saturday, Dec. 3. The police vehicle was stolen from the Inland Valley Medical Center in the 36400 block of Inland Valley Drive in Wildomar.
Alvin Smith was arrested after he stole a police vehicle that was parked at the Inland Valley Medical Center.
After the pursuit, deputies arrested 31-year-old, Alvin James Smith Jr., according to Riverside Sheriff’s Public Information Officer Sergeant Chris Durham. Smith was already on parole for previous crimes and he was charged with five felonies related to the arrest.
The incident began about 2:40 a.m., after a deputy was inside the hospital obtaining medical treatment for an arrestee. “The deputy assigned to the unit left the unit locked and secured in the parking lot,” Durham explained.
After the deputy realized the patrol vehicle had been stolen, they notified sheriff’s dispatchers and other deputies, who immediately began searching for the stolen police vehicle.
Deputies eventually located the police cruiser in the area and attempted to stop the driver, who was later identified as Smith.
Smith refused to yield to deputies, at which time they initiated a pursuit of one of their own vehicles.
Deputies were able to stop Smith in the area of Machado and Joy Streets in Lake Elsinore, where he was was taken into custody.
A jail records search revealed Smith was booked into the Southwest Detention Center in Murrieta on suspicion of taking a vehicle without the owner’s consent, recklessly evading a police officer, being a felon in possession of a firearm, being a felon in possession of ammunition and violation of state parole.
Smith is being held without bail and is scheduled to be arraigned at the Southwest Justice Center in Murrieta Dec. 7.
“The circumstances regarding the theft are still under investigation and no one was injured during the incident,” Durham stated.
Anyone with information about this incident should contact Riverside County Sheriff’s officials at (951) 210-1000. Callers can refer to incident file number WI163380005 and can remain anonymous. Citizens may also submit a tip using the Sheriff’s CrimeTips online form.
Contact the writer: [email protected]
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.
Trevor’s assignments included Corrections, Patrol, DUI Enforcement, Boat and Personal Water-Craft based Lake Patrol, Off-Road Vehicle Enforcement, Problem Oriented Policing Team, Personnel and Background Investigations and he finished his career while working as a Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Investigator.
Trevor has been married for more than 26 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and has 13 children and 12 – soon to be 13 – grandchildren.
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The deputy left the vehicle locked and secured…
Secured would mean more than just locked? Of all vehicles that shouldn’t be able to be stolen, I would think a locked and secured law enforcement vehicle would be tops.
Glad the vehicle was recovered. We need all the LE we can het.
I wondered about that as well Ed….the only thing I can imagine is that the deputy either dropped their keys or set them down somewhere.
The scary thing is that most patrol vehicles carry a racked and locked AR-15 or similar variant, (when I was an RSO deputy/investigator I carried a de-commissioned, military surplus M-16 A2 – with the three round burst selection de-activated, of course) as well as a Remington 870 Police Express shotgun.
Of course, that is not to mention all of the tactical gear we carried in our trunks.
-TM