Masked bandits storm downtown Riverside PD station – leader, AKA “Trash Panda,” later cited and released

Today’s Lighter Side of the News…

RIVERSIDE — A group of sharp-eyed police employees spotted and fended off a brazen takeover attempt at Riverside Police Department’s downtown police station earlier this week. (See RPD surveillance footage and booking photo below.)

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This week’s dramatic takeover was thwarted around 6:30 a.m., when members of the department’s Records Bureau noticed the group of “masked bandits roaming on department property,” according to Riverside PD officials, who shared video of the incident on social media.

Thanks to the early morning employees, members of the department’s SWAT (Sly ‘Waccoon Apprehension Team) were summoned and managed to stop the masked bandits before any real harm could be done.

Come to find out, many Riverside area residents are all-too familiar with the well-known “crime syndicate,” as well as its leader, who goes by the street moniker, “Trash Panda” according to Riverside resident Dony McClatchey.

Already well-known throughout the area for breaking into trash cans, stealing food from area pet owners’ dogs and cats, vandalizing both private and public property, and illegal – not to mention gross – public dumping, other locals reported they were familiar with the bandits’ mostly nocturnal antics as well.

Many “victims” later reported the group has been extorting area residents and business owners for years – often taking potato chips and dinner scraps, and stealing anything else that isn’t bolted down or locked up at night.

“I know those SOB’s!” James Stoker later exclaimed online. “That’s the same night-crawler I chased out of my backyard just last week, after he knocked over several of my trash cans and scared the hell outta my cats!”

“That same crime family has been controlling my block for awhile,” Riverside resident Michael Furr later shared on Riverside PD’s Facebook post, calling the group a “shady bunch.”

“They do as they please,” Furr said of the furry creatures’ criminally cute antics.

After determining no crime had actually been committed, the group’s reported leader was cited for being adorable, before he was photographed and eventually released on his own recognizance. Charges could be filed, pending review by the Riverside County District Attorney’s Animal Crimes Division.

This is a developing story that will be updated as new information is available.

 

 

Contact the writer: [email protected]

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 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.