All dressed up and nowhere to go – but jail

HEMET — Two people in a stolen vehicle were taken into custody after a Hemet traffic stop yesterday afternoon, Wednesday, Jan. 30. Although it was not immediately known if either of the pair was arrested as a result of the stop, officers confirmed the silver Lexus the couple were driving had been reported stolen from Phoenix, Arizona.

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A Hemet police officer spotted the stolen Lexus  around 3:15 p.m. Before the officer could get behind the vehicle, the driver pulled into the driveway of a private residence on W. Devonshire Ave. near N. Western Ave. The officer who first spotted the Lexus arrived moments later, pulling diagonally across the road behind the SUV. Within moments, numerous marked and unmarked patrol vehicles converged on the scene with their lights flashing and sirens blaring.

As area residents watched the activity unfold around them, officers conducted a high-risk, felony traffic stop. With handguns, rifles, shotguns, and less-lethal options pointed at the occupants of the stolen vehicle, officers called the female driver and a male passenger from the SUV.

When officers cautiously approached the vehicle they found a pit bull loose inside and requested animal control officials to the scene to take custody of the dog.

Although officers temporarily closed Devonshire Ave. to through traffic, the road was reopened as soon as officers had the pair in custody and had checked the SUV for anyone else who may have been hiding.

Both occupants were handcuffed and transported to Hemet PD, but it was not immediately known if either were arrested or what charges they could face.

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Contact the writer: [email protected]

Trevor Montgomery, 47, moved last year 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 15 – but soon to be 16 – grandchildren.