UPDATED: HEMET: Officials investigating dead body found in residential back yard
Police officials document the crime scene where a man’s body was found. Will Whelan/Hemet Valley Incidents photo
UPDATE: Jan. 24, 10:43 p.m.
HEMET – Hemet police officials have provided more information about a dead body that was discovered in a residential back yard in Hemet. The victim had been shot to death, according to a police official.
“At about 7:39 a.m., Hemet Police 911 Dispatch Center received a call of a deceased male lying in a backyard of a residence in the 800 block of Felipe Place,” Hemet Police Lieutenant Eddie Pust explained in a brief press release about the murder investigation. “Hemet Police Officers responded and located the deceased male with multiple gunshot wounds.”
“Hemet Police Investigations Bureau responded to the scene and took over the investigation,” Pust continued. “This is an active homicide investigation and Hemet Police Detectives are still following up on leads and witness information.”
According to Pust, officials ares still working to determined a motive in the deadly shooting.
The name of the deceased has not been released, pending notification of the man’s family.
Anyone with further information about this investigation is urged to immediately contact Hemet Police Detective Corporal M. Hall (951) 765-2324. Callers can remain anonymous.
ORIGINAL STORY
Hemet police officials converged on the normally quiet neighborhood after a citizen reported finding the body of a dead man in their back yard. Will Whelan/Hemet Valley Incidents photo
HEMET – Very few details have been released after Hemet police officials responded to reports of a dead body discovered in a back yard of a home Tuesday morning, Jan. 24. The body was reportedly found in the 800 block of Felipe Place near W. Wright Avenue in Hemet.
In spite of multiple inquiries, police officials have not released any details or information about how the victim died or what might have led up to or caused the deadly incident.
By early Tuesday morning, W. Wright Avenue was cordoned off with crime scene tape. The area remained closed to through traffic between Felipe Place and Gilbert Street while authorities investigate to determine the cause of the victim’s death as well as how the man ended up in the back yard where his body was found.
Numerous crime scene markers could be seen in front of a home and in the home’s driveway, as well as in the street in front of the home.
Police officers and detectives remained at the scene of the deadly incident throughout the morning and afternoon. Robert Carter/Public Safety Incidents photo
Several residents who live in the area said they are worried and nervous, wondering if there is any immediate danger to those who live in the neighborhood.
One neighbor who declined to be identified, said the victim appeared to be that of a middle-aged man with a buzz-style haircut.
Some residents who were interviewed by police officials reported hearing several gunshots the previous evening or early this morning.
As of 2 p.m., numerous marked and unmarked police vehicles, including a crime scene investigation truck, could be seen parked along W. Wright Avenue, as detectives and forensic technicians photographed, documented, and collected evidence.
Evidence collected at the scene included several shell casings, according to neighbors who live in the neighborhood where the body was found.
By late afternoon, authorities had obtained a search warrant for one of the homes on Wright Avenue. It was not immediately known if the search warrant was for the residence where the body was discovered or another, nearby home.
A Hemet police volunteer at the scene said no details would be available until officials issued a press release, possibly later in the day.
Anyone one with information regarding this investigation is urged to contact the Hemet Police Department at (951) 765-2400. Callers can remain anonymous.
Click any image to open full-size gallery.
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.