Removing groceries from car outside his San Jacinto apartment, man gunned down

October 6, 2021 Trevor Montgomery

SAN JACINTO, Calif., — Authorities say a shooting in San Jacinto left a man hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries Tuesday afternoon, Oct. 5. Reports and witness statements from the scene indicate the victim was unloading groceries from his vehicle when he was approached by a vehicle with at least two Hispanic males who then opened fire on him.

No arrests have been made in the shooting, which occurred outside the Mountain View Garden Apartments in the 800 block of Main Street, near Camino Las Banos and adjacent Durango Park, according to officials.

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Deputies from the San Jacinto Sheriff’s Station and other emergency personnel were dispatched to the scene around 2:50 p.m. after receiving reports of a shooting that had just occurred, Riverside Sheriff’s Sergeant Mike Heath later reported.

Deputies arrived within minutes and located a victim with non-life-threatening gunshot wounds in the area of 7th Street and San Jacinto Avenue. He was transported to a nearby hospital for treatment and is expected to survive.

Deputies located several bullet casings and damage to a vehicle after a shooting that left one man hospitalized with non-life-threatening gunshot wounds. Laurie Cain/Hemet News photo

Deputies secured the area as a crime scene and summoned investigators, who responded to the location and assumed the investigation.

During their subsequent investigation, deputies and investigators were seen interviewing multiple potential witnesses while forensic specialists were seen documenting, photographing and collecting evidence, including nearly two dozen shell casings that littered the roadway after the shooting.

Reports from the scene by Hemet News indicated the victim was possibly unloading groceries from his vehicle when the shooting occurred.

“The victim was unloading his groceries into his apartment when a vehicle pulled up and the occupants asked the victim where he was from and then opened fire on him with what appeared to be a 45 caliber handgun,” the Facebook newsgroup has since said; adding, “We counted at least 17 evidence markers of shell casings.”

The sheriff’s investigation is continuing and no further information has been released.

Anyone with information regarding this ongoing investigation is encouraged to contact Investigator Jess Vasquez at the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department – Hemet Station by calling (951) 791-3400. Callers can refer to incident file number I212780061 and can remain anonymous.

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Contact the writer: [email protected]

Trevor Montgomery, 50, moved in 2017 to the Intermountain area of Shasta County from Riverside County and runs Riverside County News Source (RCNS) and Shasta County News Source (SCNS).

Additionally, he writes or has written for several other news organizations; including Riverside County-based newspapers Valley News, Valley Chronicle, Anza Valley Outlook, and Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle; the Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County; and Mountain Echo in Shasta County. He is also a regular contributor to Thin Blue Line TV and Law Enforcement News Network and has had his stories featured on news stations throughout the Southern California and North State regions.

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 30 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 18 grandchildren.