Citizens chase & detain trio after Hemet gas theft leads to hit and run, three arrested
HEMET — Three people were arrested this morning, Friday, Oct. 5, after citizens who witnessed the trio stealing gas from a landscape crew working at a Hemet gas station chased the trio while reporting the theft to officials.
The fleeing sedan eventually lost control and plowed nearly head-on into a van, at which time two of the three alleged suspects jumped from the wrecked car and attempted to flee on foot from the area.
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City of Hemet PD responded to the area about 11:15 a.m., after landscapers working at a Shell Station at the intersection of Florida and Lyon Avenues noticed three males stealing gas cans from the back of their work truck and called 911.
Officers arrested three males after citizens intervened during a gas theft and chased the trio as they tried to flee from the scene. Gary Rainwater photo
When the victims and witnesses attempted to confront the trio, they fled the scene at high-speed in a small black sedan.
Numerous citizens who witnessed the original theft and confrontation chased the alleged suspects as they fled westbound on Florida Ave., while continuously updating emergency dispatchers regarding the trio’s attempt to flee.
As the driver of the fleeing vehicle attempted to make a right turn from Florida Ave. onto N. Gilmore St., witnesses say he was driving too fast, lost control, and plowed nearly head-on into a white Nissan van.
After the collision the vehicle’s two passengers immediately fled from the scene of the crash, while the driver was detained at the scene by witnesses and concerned citizens, who held him at the scene for responding officers.
With citizens continuing to follow them, the two alleged suspects who fled from the crash ran from the area, first heading north on Gilmore St. and then west on Devonshire Ave.
Numerous officers who had already been dispatched to the area after the initial theft reports quickly converged on the area from around the city and with citizens’ help, quickly detained the driver that citizens held at the scene of the crash.
Other officers responded to the vehicles and citizens following the other two alleged suspects and soon located and detained the pair on Devonshire just 50 yards from Kirby St.
During their subsequent investigation, officers interviewed the victims of the originally reported gas theft, as well as numerous citizens and witnesses who were instrumental in apprehending the three males, who have not yet been identified.
Officers eventually arrested all three alleged suspects, but officials have not yet released any information regarding the arrests or their investigation, which is ongoing.
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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 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 28 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and his “fluid family” includes 13 children and 14 – but soon to be 16 – grandchildren.