Officers flood into Hemet park after man with gun reported, one arrested
HEMET — Families and children enjoying a Halloween afternoon at Hemet’s Mary Henley Park were sent scrambling for safety when more than a half-dozen officers flooded into the park after receiving reports of a man with a gun at the location. A Hemet area community news reporting group captured video of the tense incident, which they later shared online with their more than 55,000 members.
Two men were detained during the videotaped incident at the park, which is located at 801 S. Kirby St., between Cypress St. and W. Johnston Ave. One was later arrested for an outstanding warrant and the reported weapon turned out to be a realistic looking BB gun.
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City of Hemet police officers were dispatched to the park around 2 p.m., after someone reported seeing a man armed with what they believed was a handgun.
The 911 caller reported the man was sitting with another male at a picnic table, under one of two covered areas along the park’s south side. The picnic tables are just yards away from one of the park’s two playground areas where several children were playing.
One man is detained at Mary Henley Park this afternoon, as more officers race to assist officials already at the scene. Tina Rivas/Hemet Valley Incidents photo
Based on the circumstances, several officers began responding to the area, with the first officials arriving just minutes after the call was dispatched.
The officers quickly found the two men described by the 911 caller and radioed that they were holding the pair at gunpoint. It was at that point Tina Rivas, of Hemet Valley Incidents, began filming the incident.
Within moments, additional patrol vehicles with lights flashing and sirens wailing began arriving in the area. Several of the incoming patrol vehicles raced across the park’s grass, right up to where the first officers held the two men at gunpoint.
Officers called the men toward them one at a time, placing first one and then the other into handcuffs and into patrol vehicles. Both were detained without incident just minutes after the call had been dispatched. After the two men were detained officers located the reported weapon, quickly determining it to be a BB gun.
Officers conducted a records check and learned one of the pair was wanted on an outstanding arrest warrant. He was arrested and later transported to Hemet Jail to be booked on charges related to his warrant. The other was not wanted and determined to have not broken any laws and was subsequently released.
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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.