Sheriff’s Mounted Patrol-led enforcement operation in San Jacinto leads to 28 warrants served, 13 arrests
SAN JACINTO, Calif., — Citizens and criminals alike were surprised – some pleasantly, others not so much – to see a mounted patrol-led Quality of Life/High Visibility enforcement operation sweep through the San Jacinto area earlier this week. The operation resulted in twenty-eight warrants being served and thirteen arrests, according to officials.
Such Quality of Life operations, both big and small, have become a regular sight in San Jacinto, and sheriff’s officials have said the extra patrols are in response to ongoing complaints regarding area homeless and criminal activity – along with abandoned vehicles, illegal trash dumps, and other blight – which were once common sights throughout the community.
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The Sheriff’s Mounted Enforcement Detail (MED), which was created last March as an addition and enhancement to the already-existing volunteer Sheriff’s Posse, is used in a variety of situations including crime suppression, crowd management, ceremonial events, livestock evacuation, search and rescue and more, according to officials; who have said, the MED “works both in conjunction with and separately from the volunteer Sheriff’s Posse.”
Area residents have been overwhelmingly supportive of and thankful for the targeted patrols, including one similar operation last December that led to eighty warrants being served and the arrest of forty-five people in just eight hours. Another such sweep earlier in the year resulted in fifty-one warrants being served and twenty-four people arrested. One gun and six stolen vehicles were also recovered as a result of those two earlier operations.
Officials are seen working in and along the San Jacinto riverbed, where they provided assistance and resources to those within the homeless population who were willing to accept the help. Riverside County Sheriff’s Department photos
Although not as large as some other recent Quality of Life/High Visibility enforcement operations, this week’s sweep was just as effective, and was conducted by San Jacinto Sheriff’s Station deputies, members of the City’s Homeless and At-Risk Population (HARP) Team, and the Sheriff’s Mounted Enforcement Detail.
During the sweep, teams of officials fanned out throughout the City of San Jacinto as well as the unincorporated surrounding area, which included a heavy focus on the San Jacinto riverbed where homeless are known to congregate and set up encampments.
More than thirty people were contacted, thirteen of whom were ultimately arrested for outstanding warrants. By the end of the operation, one felony and twenty-seven misdemeanor warrants had been served.
As the enforcement operation continued, deputies and other officials had more on their minds than just locating and arresting wanted persons, with HARP Team members’ focus being providing assistance and resources to those within the homeless population who were willing to accept the help.
With the likelihood of colder Winter weather, expected storms, and the constant threat of flash-flood conditions occurring within and around the normally dry riverbed of immediate concern, HARP members were also able to provide those contacted with vital information related to emergency winter shelter, housing assistance, and other available resources.
An unidentified man is seen being walked to an awaiting patrol vehicle after he was found to have an outstanding arrest warrant during this week’s enforcement operation. City of San Jacinto photo
“It was so neat seeing the officers patrolling on horseback,” Joanie Richardson, a local mother of two, told RCNS after she and one of her children got to watch the mounted patrol officers as they conducted a sweep in the San Jacinto riverbed near her home. “My daughter was just thrilled and couldn’t stop talking about getting to see them as they passed by.”
“I didn’t even know we had mounted patrols in San Jacinto,” she continued; adding, “What a great resource to have!”
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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.