HEMET: Man waving machetes in residential neighborhood apprehended

August 11, 2018 Trevor Montgomery

HEMET — Officers who responded to reports of a man walking in a residential Hemet neighborhood while waving two machetes quickly located and apprehended the man after a brief struggle earlier this evening.

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Hemet police officers responded to the area of W. Johnston Ave. and S. Elk St., east of Mary Henley Park, about 6:15 p.m., after a citizen called 911 to report they were following a man who was carrying two machetes and waving them at people.

A half-dozen officers responded to back up another officer who spotted a man waving several machetes while walking along a Hemet St. earlier this evening. Timothy Franzese/Public Safety Incidents photo

The 911 caller described the alleged suspect as a black male adult, wearing all black clothing and a black hat.

The suspect, who has not yet been identified publicly, had just turned north onto Elk when the first officer arrived in the area and spotted him, according to witnesses at the scene and official radio traffic.

The officer confronted the man at gunpoint as he walked along the sidewalk, at which time the man put down the knives he was carrying, but continued walking away from the officer and refusing to obey the officer’s commands.

As numerous officers converged on the scene with lights flashing and sirens blaring, a second officer arrived in the area, at which time the alleged suspect sat down on the curb in front of a private residence.

When the two officers moved in to handcuff and detain the man a brief struggle ensued, but the man was quickly overpowered and taken into without further incident.

It was not immediately known why the man was walking down the street with the weapons or if he was ultimately arrested and officials have not released any information regarding their investigation, which is active and ongoing.

Neither the suspect or any of the involved officers were injured during the apprehension.

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Timothy Franzese/Public Safety Incidents photo

Timothy Franzese/Public Safety Incidents video

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Trevor Montgomery, 47, recently moved to the Intermountain area of Shasta County from Riverside County and runs Riverside County News Source and Shasta County News Source. Additionally, he writes for several other news organizations, including Riverside County based newspapers, Valley News, The Valley Chronicle and Anza Valley Outlook, as well as Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County and The Mountain Echo in Shasta County.

Trevor 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, breaking his back and suffering both spinal cord and brain injuries in an off-duty accident. (Click here to see segment of Discovery Channel documentary of Trevor’s accident.)

During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations, including Robert Presley Detention Center, Southwest Station in Temecula, Hemet/Valle Vista Station, Ben Clark Public Safety Training Center and Lake Elsinore Station, along with 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 and Personnel/Background Investigations. He finished his career while working as a Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Investigator and was a court-designated expert in child abuse and child sex-related crimes.

Trevor has been married for more than 27 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and his “fluid family” boasts 13 children and 14 – soon to be 16 – grandchildren.