On May 8, 2008, Mr. Jim Noss wrote a letter commending Deputy Bryan Robins and Sheriff Special Officer Aaron Chamberlain, of the Theo Lacy Facility. Mr. Noss commended them for going the extra yard in helping him get a court order for a clothing exchange approved by the Watch Commander. During his wait, he observed SSO Chamberlain's interactions with the public, his fellow workers and other agencies. He said that SSO Chamberlain was very friendly and efficient at doing his job. He would like to congratulate Deputy Robins for his attention to detail and his logic in handling the situation. Mr. Noss states that Deputy Robins and SSO Chamberlain are great assets to this department.

Lieutenant Lee Trujillo of Stanton Police Services received a letter of thanks from a Stanton resident for the assistance she received from Stanton CSO Nick Rickers. The woman had been assisting her grandson who had received a traffic citation. They had been dealing with the citation and trying to get it resolved since March, when they finally came to the front counter at the Stanton Station where CSO Rickers assisted them. She stated that he made several phone calls, and "he kept us informed as to what was happening. He was pleasant; we were truly impressed with his patience and knowledge." Thank you to CSO Nick Rickers for being a true asset to the Orange County Sheriff's Department, and for your professional attitude and commitment to serving the residents of Orange County.

On July 10, 2008, the Support Services Division received a commendation email from detective Trooper Aimee Nolan of the Vermont State Police expressing her extreme gratitude regarding Records unit employee Blanche Hernandez. Blanche assisted the trooper with the procedures for submitting her request. Within one hour after receiving the request, Blanche not only faxed back a copy of our report, but she also provided the trooper with the arresting agencies information and the report numbers of their reports. Detective Trooper Nolan writes "Sometimes requesting information or assistance from agencies outside of Vermont can be very challenging; however, your department shattered that theory!" Thank you, Blanche, for being such a fine representative of the Support Services Division and the Orange County Sheriff's Department.

Calltaker Jennifer Demers of Dispatch received a letter of commendation from Leonard Atencio, a teacher with the Birney Elementary School in Pico Rivera. Mr. Atencio was impressed with Calltaker Demers' professionalism and her willingness to extend herself beyond her duties. Mr. Atencio wrote:

"On Friday May 23, 2008, I and two of my colleagues took our seventy three fifth grade students on a field trip to Sunset Beach. We were completing our visit to the Bolsa Chica Wetlands Conservancy with a planned beach cleanup. Halfway along the beach our kids encountered a dead seal, apparently mutilated or attacked and newly washed ashore. Our group continued on with the cleanup while I attempted to inform an agency about the seal. Unfortunately, there were no lifeguards on duty.

After calling a couple of numbers given to me by a resident I was put in contact with a young lady named Jennifer at the Orange County Sheriff's Department. She transferred my call to a number which was no longer in service. After the second time, Jennifer took the initiative and setup a conference call with me while she attempted, over the next 45 minutes, to find an agency willing to take the information I was trying to report. She made a number of calls to various groups and organizations expertly, efficiently, patiently, assertively and politely guiding us through this phone maze in order to get me in contact with the right people. More...

When the driver of an Hummer parked illegally in a handicap parking spot threatened Alice Chandler last week, she called 911. Three Deputies responded to the scene. They gave the man a ticket and suggested Chandler call them next time before she confronts a parking violator.

The feisty lady, five days shy of her 80th birthday, informed the deputies that she had once been a Special Deputy for the Orange County Sheriff's Department and she still had her badge and gun.

"The one deputy gave me look," she said later. "It got me wondering whether I should turn it in."

She went home and wrote a letter to Sheriff Sandra Hutchens. She congratulated Sheriff Hutchens as the first female Sheriff in Orange County. Former Special Deputy Chandler wondered whether she may have been the first female Deputy Sheriff in the Department.

"I am not sure if there was ever another woman deputy at that time, at least I never met or heard of one," she said in her letter.

Department records reviewed so far were unable to determine whether or not she was the Department's first female Deputy.

Although Department records indicate she was Special Deputy, she was given a Deputy Sheriff's badge.

"I was told by Sheriff Musick that I had the full responsiblility of a deputy sheriff and could be called at anytime should they need me and I felt so proud to have my badge and the responsibiity," she said in the letter.

She came to the Division Commanders meeting on Thursday, her 80th birthday, and formally turned her badge, identification card and gun, a .32 caliber long revolver, to Sheriff Hutchens and Captain Davis Nighswonger. She was given a birthday cake and a rendition of "Happy Birthday to You" by all who were present.

To read a Los Angeles Times account of the story click here.   

Sergeant Mike Wallace:

I would like to once again take the opportunity to offer continued praise and recognition for the outstanding job that Deputy [Kimberly] Stansfield performs in my courtroom.  Deputy Stansfield has worked with me in my courtroom for the last three plus years.  During that time, our assignments have varied.

During the past year, we worked in Department N-13 for six months handling the Felony trial calendar of Judge Prickett.  In that assignment, she exhibited professionalism with life sentence inmates, victims and victim’s families, defendant’s family/friends, jurors, attorneys, as well as all the many other tasks required to perform in felony trials.  She not only assisted in making sure things went timely, but more importantly dealt with the increased security concerns and potentially volatile situations that arise in this type of assignment.  Our next assignment was Department N-6 as an open trial courtroom and included Misdemeanor trials, Preliminary Hearings, Civil Harassments/Civil Trials, Felony and Misdemeanor sentencing’s and miscellaneous matters.  Our current assignment is Department N-9 where we handle private attorney pre-trials and back-up preliminary hearings.

Deputy Stansfield is always on time and has consistently demonstrated a very high level of professionalism and courtesy when dealing with me, court staff, attorneys, fellow deputies, prisoners, jurors and the public in the audience.  I find her to be an excellent deputy sheriff and courtroom bailiff and she is a true asset to the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.  Please don’t hesitate to contact me if I can provide you with any further information.

Sincerely,

Lance P. Jensen
Superior Court Judge

Guilty on all counts.

Count 1: We find you guilty of having a dynamic personality and the professionalism that's second to none...

Click the image to read all five counts:

Dear Acting Sheriff Anderson:

My name is Rebecca Olivieri and I am a Senior Deputy District Attorney assigned to the Special Prosecutions Unit in the Orange County District Attorney’s Office.  My purpose in writing to you is to let you know what an outstanding employee you have in Deputy Jason Pitts.

Deputy Pitts proved invaluable recently when he provided crucial interpretation in a kidnap for ransom case which was investigated by the Costa Mesa Police Department.  The victims in our case were Brazilian citizens who spoke only Portuguese.  Due to the unavailability of a Portuguese interpreter during the original investigation, the victims, now living in Florida, were flown out to testify at the preliminary hearing.  Significant issues developed during the hearing, however, when it was discovered that the court assigned interpreter, who was from Portugal, was having difficulty interpreting for the Brazilian witnesses.  Given those issues, we were forced to abort the preliminary hearing midstream. More...

Dear Lieutenant Trujillo,

It is a pleasure having Deputy Scott Montoya at Walter School as we implement the Gang Reduction Intervention Program (G.R.I.P.).  He has been a regular presence since February 18th.  Already, he has been able to build rapport with students, staff and parents.  His ability to counsel students as he focuses them on making good choices has resulted in less behavior problems in the classroom.  With the increased accountability as students know that Deputy Montoya will be checking up on them on a regular basis has made many of our students become more reflective.

You could not have selected a better deputy to work with our various stakeholders.  Our teachers have commented that Scott has had a positive impact on the most troubled students.  Our teachers have appreciated Scott’s presence during parent meetings in which the focus has been on implementing positive reinforcements at home to help with discipline.  Our parents have commented on how much safer the campus feels due to Scott’s presence, especially during the morning hours and dismissal time.  During parent meetings such as ELAC and Coffee with the Principal, parents have thanked me for making school safety a priority by having Deputy Montoya on campus.

As principal, I appreciate the opportunity to be able to count on Scott as we confront issues of gang-like behavior on campus.  Even if he is at other schools, he is only a phone call away.  Just recently, we conducted the truancy sweeps.  Deputy District Attorney, Tracy Rinauro shared with me how instrumental Scott had been to help a parent de-escalate during the truancy sweep.  The parent recognized Scott as the deputy on campus at his son’s school.  Due to the rapport he had built with the student, the parent was willing to cooperate.

I wanted to thank you for your commitment to ensure we have safe schools even before the G.R.I.P. grant was awarded.

Sincerely,
Elizabeth Nordyke, principal

Dear Acting Sheriff-Coroner Anderson:

I am writing to thank you for the contributions your agency has made to the “DNA Field Experiment,” which has turned out to be an historic and groundbreaking project.  It has revealed important ways law enforcement can use DNA to identify burglary suspects.  Many of the burglars arrested during the field test had long, serious arrest histories.  Other jurisdictions are likely to find similarly serious offenders.  You and your agency’s willingness to participate has been highly valued and will be even more so when law enforcement across the United States learns what we have accomplished together.

I wanted to give you advance notice that the Department of Justice expects to announce the results soon…Your team led by Dean Gialamas, has already reviewed the researchers’ report and given us valuable comments.  Their comments will be reflected in the final document released to the public.

I would like to especially thank the key members of your staff:  Elizabeth Thompson, Tom Nasser, Bob Blackburn, Mike Gavin and Paul Fuzzard.

Your partnership with researchers has been extremely valuable to your colleagues in law enforcement and is greatly appreciated by the Department of Justice.

Sincerely,
David W. Hagy
Director
U.S. Department of Justice

Deputy Mark Lange received a letter of commendation from the grandmother of a defendant.  The defendant appeared in his courtroom for a drug charge case that lasted nearly three years.  The grandmother was always present.  She wrote:

“You probably think we forgot about you and you probably think we were ungrateful….
 
Please accept this as a very small token of our appreciation.  We have thought of you often. 

You were the one that remained strong and kept control of the courtroom and did it in a very professional manner.

You were the one that when things seemed a bit tuff on us that you were sensitive and compassionate.

We will forever be grateful for your kind and compassionate words to our family and the young man in custody.

You have been a great example of what a Law Enforcement Officer should be and I know there were others but

You stood out the most because of the constant contact in the courtroom.

Once again Thank You so very much for being a decent human being… …God Bless,”

From LAPD Chief William J. Bratton and Captain Jeffrey L. Greer:

Dear Sheriff Anderson:

On behalf of the officers of the Los Angeles Police Department’s Special Weapons and Tactics Unit (SWAT) and Metropolitan Division, I would like to personally thank your SWAT team and your Department for the generous donation to the Randy Simmons family.  It is truly an honor to receive this heartfelt offering for Lisa and their children.  Additionally, I would also like to personally thank Sergeant Joe Balicki and deputies from your office for attending Officer Randy Simmons’ funeral.

The loss of Randy Simmons was devastating to his family, our Department, and the community.  Randy’s life defined what a servant’s heart exemplified.  He was greatly respected in the law enforcement community and revered by our Department for his accomplishments.

Lisa Simmons and Randy’s children are overwhelmed by the support of the law enforcement family and the officers who traveled to celebrate his life.  We are truly grateful to your team for their unwavering support and tremendous gesture during this time.  Our officers and Randy’s family were taken back by the contribution your team has made to honor Randy.

Please extend our eternal thanks to the members of your SWAT team and Department for their faithful support of one of their fallen brethren.

From Michael J. Messina, Chief of Police, Brea Police Department:

Dear Acting Sheriff Anderson:

On March 27, 2008, at approx 1115 hours, officers from the Brea Police Department responded to a “take-over” bank robbery in Yorba Linda.  Three armed robbery suspects were seen leaving the bank and getting into a van.

Responding Brea officers chased the van into a nearby retail center where the three suspects fled on foot.  One was soon taken into custody and the other two were seen leaving the area in a black Ranger Rover.  A Brea motorcycle sergeant soon spotted the vehicle and a pursuit ensued through the City of Placentia.  One of the suspects jumped out of the vehicle and fled into a residential area near Kraemer and Bastanchury.  The pursuit continued all the way into Chino Hills before the driver pulled over and surrendered.

The search for the outstanding suspect in Placentia necessitated the need for a large perimeter and required extensive personnel resources.  Orange County Sheriff’s Department K9 Handler Brown and his partner responded to a request for assistance.  After an exhaustive three-hour search, the North County SWAT Team found the last suspect hiding in the garage of a residential home.

The assistance provided by the members of your department was critical in bringing about a successful resolution to the incident.  No one was injured during this event.  Your deputy is a credit to your department and a model example of inter-agency cooperation.  I want to express my deep appreciation for the service he rendered.

You never know where praise will be offered for the work of the members of the Orange County Sheriff's Department. Here are some kudos recently for the extraordinary work. 

Lt. Mike Betzler, Chief of Police Services for the City of San Juan Capistrano was praised by Senior Deputy Orange County District Attorney Tracy Rinauro for his assistance with the San Juan Capistrano gang injunction. Senior D.A. Rinauro wrote, "I have had the pleasure of working with Lt. Betzler for the past year and a half. He is an amazing asset to the Sheriff's Department, the Orange County District Attorney's Office and the San Juan Capistrano community. Lt. Betzler was instrumental to the success of the gang injunction. He has an amazingly positive attitude and excellent communication skills. I have recently had the opportunity to work with Lt. Betzler on gang prevention programs in San Juan Capistrano. He has built a professional relationship with several different community organizations throughout Orange County. Lt. Betzler has connected me to many of these community leaders to work with them on gang prevention
projects in San Juan Capistrano. Lt. Betzler genuinely cares about the San Juan Capistrano community and he is dedicated to making it a safe place to live and work. He has an incredible amount of energy and has on many occasions gone above and beyond the call of duty to assist me with establishing a gang prevention project in San Juan Capistrano. Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to work with Lt. Mike Betzler. His professional demeanor, enthusiastic, positive attitude and dedication to his career inspire me."

Sgt. Mike Gavin was recently featured in the OCTA newsletter for his hard work. He has been with OCTA/Transit Police Services since September, 2006.  Sgt. Gavin supervises the Right-of-Way Team that patrols the OCTA right of way, and conducts special operations for Transit/Bus Operations.  He is currently working with OCTA staff on the implementation of the video live-feed capability for Transit Police Services. More...

From Captain Bergquist, OCSD Harbor Patrol: "Julie Deyan is a marine science expert who is currently working with the Orange Coast College Coastal Dolphin Survey Project.  They are conducting a study of dolphin behavior in the Newport Harbor area and she was a ride-along on Tues, Dec 4th with Sgt. John Hollenbeck as he was on one of his regular patrols.  During the patrol, they encountered a significant pod of Risso’s dolphins who appeared to be migrating along the coast at Newport Harbor (initial sighting by Deputy Wray by CDM).  She couldn’t have been more excited!!!"

Here's the "Thank You" from Ms. Deyan:

 

From Assemblyman Todd Spitzer's letter: 

"I want to extend my sincerest congratulations to the City of Mission Viejo and to Mission Viejo Police Services for receiving the distinction as the Safest City in the Nation by the CQ Press.  This distinguished honor is a testament to your leadership within the department and your commitment to public safety. 

I am honored and proud that Mission Viejo has consistently ranked among the top ten safest cities in the nation since the inception of the Safest City and Metropolitan Area Awards 14 years ago.  Your officers are to be commended for their dedication to protecting citizens, enforcing laws, and preventing crimes.  I applaud your diligent efforts in preserving the standard of safety our community has come to pride itself on. 

Again, congratulations on this extraordinary distinction.  It is well deserved. 

Sincerely,  

Todd Spitzer
Assemblymember, 71st District"

Rancho Soñado serves as the headquarters for Inside the Outdoors®, an environmental education facility located off Silverado Canyon. The Santiago Fires surrounded the Ranch but didn't harm any of the buildings.

From their website:

"Surrounded by preserves and national forest, Rancho Soñado gives your students a chance to explore local ecology in a pristine environment. Ecosystems represented include a pond, a riparian area, oak woodland, and chaparral."

And, true to their mission, they're already turning burned chapparal into chapparal-ade: (click over for great pictures)

"Rancho Soñado is surrounded by the chapparal ecosystem.  Historically, fire swept through chaparral areas approximately every 20 to 30 years. Not only are most of the chaparral plants well adapted to resisting fire, but some of the species, such as laurel sumac (Rhus laurina), rely on fire for their persistence or rejuvenation. Some of the plants, such as toyon (Heteromeles arbutifolia), chamise (Adenstoma fasciculatum), and laurel sumac (Rhus laurina), have basal burls or root crowns from which branches resprout after a fire.  Other chaparral plants have a seed bank underground in which seeds are deposited during non-fire years. After a fire, the parent plant is burned which results in the seeds receiving the water, space, light, and nutrients that they need in order to germinate and grow. Laurel sumac (Rhus laurina) seeds are thought to germinate only after being exposed to the heat from a fire (Vogl 1998)."

From Chief Probation Officer Colleene Preciado to Chairman Chris Norby:

"July 26, 2007:

I would like to inform you of an extraordinary collaborative effort by the County’s Law Enforcement Team. As you are aware, the Orange County Fair i currently open. Each Tuesday, the Fair offers free admission for children in the “Kids Day” event. As you are also aware, the Probation Department’s Sex Offender Unit aggressively monitors and keeps close tabs on the whereabouts of known sex offenders. As in previous years, our Sex Offender Until attends the Fair on Kids Day and other days to ensure the public is safe from predators and to seek out sex offenders violating terms of their probation. Sex offenders are specifically forbidden to attend events such as the Fair because it is a location “likely to be attended by children.”  

On Tuesday, July 24, the Department Sex Offender Unit, along with the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, was once again successful in spotting a long-time, known child molester at the Orange County Fair. The sex offender is a Megan’s Law registrant that was formerly on probation and is currently on parole. Deputy Probation Officer Andrew Parker, a member of the Sex Offender Unit, recognized the known sex offender, Sheriff’s Deputy Charlie Davis notified state parole, and DPO Parker was authorized to immediately arrest the offender. The public is safer today because this sex offender has been taken into custody and will likely return to prison. To what degree we don’t know, but a crime was certainly avoided on Tuesday because of the astute and professional work of the Probation Department’s officers. A week earlier on July 17, the Probation Department’s Sex Offender Unit was walking the fairgrounds and spotted a known child molester. With the assistance of the Sheriff’s Department, the sex offender was taken into custody thereby removing this predator from the event. To underscore the importance, both sex offenders have been convicted of numerous crimes of child molestation and other sex offenses.  

This is not the first time our Sex Offender Unit has served public safety well at the Orange County Fair. In 2005, the Probation Department made national and international news for catching a sexual predator at the Fair. Again last year, a similar arrest was made at the Fair – another sex offender was apprehended.  

I believe the Orange County Probation Department’s Sex Offender Unit is the finest in the State. […]This collaborative including the Probation Department and the Orange County Sheriff’s Department with officers Charlie Davis and David Caler works very well to keep Orange County safe. The fine teamwork between the Probation and Sheriff’s Departments strengths the enforcement capabilities of the County, thereby resulting in exceptional results, as described in these recent events at the Fair."

From a phone call from Newport Beach Police Chief John Klein:

Chief Klein called to express his thanks for our dive team locating human remains today (July 13) off the East side of the Newport Jetty.

Two station 43 detectives and the coroner's office responded. Chief Klein wanted to give his personal thanks to our staff for being diligent in their efforts to locate the female.

Our dive team located several remains while on a dive off the east jetty in less than 40 feet of water. Sergeant Von Rettberg and Deputy Beachner assisted on the fireboat, and Deputies Schnell, Slikker and Lofland were the divers.

We attempted to dive last week, but the current and conditions were not favorable for the mission.

Here's a CBS2 story on the dive.

Since the blog debuted, there have been several inquiries as to why comments are closed.  The purpose of this blog is to allow the Sheriff and his staff to express their ideas and thoughts about the Department and items of interest that may involve or affect the Department.  There are several other blogs where the public may comment on issues affecting this Department.

Because the Sheriff's Department is a public agency and may not censor speech protected by the First Amendment, we do not want to be in the position of having to determine whether every comment posted is protected by the First Amendment, or whether it may be libelous or simply viewed by our readers as vulgar or in poor taste.  In contrast, privately operated blogs may censor or remove items as they see fit.  If we were to allow comments, we would run the risk of either opening up the comments to everything, including comments that even a private blogger would not permit, or else shutting down the blog.  Therefore, our only options are to allow everything or allow nothing. Given the legal risks involved in censoring speech, we have determined, upon the advice of counsel, to not allow comments be posted directly on the blog.

While it was necessary for us to make this decision, it doesn't mean that we don't want to hear from our readers. This is why we offer the Sheriff's email address in the top-left column. We want feedback - positive and negative - and we want to hear your ideas and opinions. Frankly, that's what makes the blog so interesting and fun to write.If you, as a sheriff's employee or a county resident or a reader from across the country, have an idea or a suggestion or a rant, send us an email. Who knows, you might just alert us to something we haven't thought about.

A letter from a Trabuco Canyon resident:

I apologize for not contacting you sooner regarding this commendation letter. Several months ago, my wife, who has multiple sclerosis, had a six hour treatment in Irvine. On her way home she ran out of gas in her car. She was not feeling well, and she was exhausted from the treatment she received. She was in the middle of the intersection. She was scared and did not know what to do. Luckily, Deputy D. Schmier happened to be passing by. He saw that my wife was having a problem and he immediately responded.

When he first contacted her, he blocked traffic in order to ensure her safety. Next, he had Kathy stand near on the sidewalk for her safety. Deputy Schmier followed my wife to the gas station to make sure she had enough gas to get home.

I am so proud to know that you have Deputies committed to their job. Deputy Schmier demonstrated professionalism, compassion, and community service to my wife. I know that Deputy Schmier treated my wife like he would treat a member of his own family. I am extremely impressed with the quality of service we received.

A letter from the Tustin Unified School District:

On behalf of the entire Tustin Unified School District, we want to express an on-going, sincere appreciation for Sergeant Brad Virgoe.

Over the years, Sergeant Brad Virgoe has proven to be a valuable asset to our district. His expert leadership of the School Mobile Resource Team (SMART) has assisted our schools and community in assessing student and school related threats on countless occasions. And after each assessment, a thorough disposition of "de-briefing" of the action taken is provided school administrators.

On many other occasions, Sergeant Brad Virgoe has demonstrated how fortunate our community is to have a local law enforcement agency and the school district working hand-in-hand in establishing and maintaining safe, secure campuses. Sergeant Virgoe has addressed our Board and other community groups many times to illustrate how his team works and to promote the importance of maintaining these vital working relationships between his department and local schools. His addresses are always concise, very informative, and very well received.

In closing, Sergeant Brad Virgoe's continued commitment and dedication in assisting our district establish and maintain safe, secure schools exemplifies the best in the partnership between the Orange County Sheriff's Department and the Tustin Unified School District. Again, we would ike to thank Sergeant Virgoe for his valuable time and on-going assistance.

----

The SCHOOL MOBILE ASSESSMENT and RESOURCE TEAM (S.M.A.R.T.), was established in 2001 and is operated and supervised through the Orange County Sheriffs Department. SMART can be utilized in situations and incidents at schools related to violence, threats, possession and or use of weapons, bizarre and unstable behaviors, and suicidal related actions. 

The SMART unit works in conjunction with school officials, the probation department, the district attorney’s office, and mental health agencies to help resolve safety issues and concerns involving all personnel associated to each individual school. The unit provides services and resources, including threat assessment, criminal investigation, and referrals to counseling where deemed appropriate. 

The goal of SMART is to evaluate and assess each case individually, effectively resolve the matter through the least intrusive means available (while still maintaining safety and security to the school), and ultimately return the staff and students to their daily routine. 

→In 2006, the SMART team responded to 383 calls for service, conducted 210 threat assessments, made 272 arrests and confiscated 101 weapons.

From The Gillian Sabet Memorial Foundation:  

On June 9, 2007 at JSerra Catholic High School in San Juan Capistrano, more than 400 people participated in the 2^nd Annual JourneySafe Walk-a-Thon to raise awareness in the community about the epidemic of teen automobile fatalities. The event honors the memory of our daughter, Gillian, who lost her life in a car crash two years ago on her way to prom.  

We were honored to have your support and participation in our event and especially for making available to us the vast resources of Orange County Sheriff’s Department. Without the support of Captain Ron White, Deputy Angelo Marquez, Explorer Captain M. Grijalva, Explorer Sergeant T. Perkins and Explorers K. Cordova, J. LaBarbara, S. Crisp, E. Dossland, J. Arredondo, S. Popescu, A. Hart, and J.B. Okey, events like this and the protection of our teens would not possible.

We truly appreciate your public recognition and support of our efforts to help raise awareness and reduce the number of teen automobile related crash fatalities in Orange County and beyond.

From the Beverly Hills Police Department:  

On December 14, 2005, a heinous and senseless crime occurred in the City of Beverly Hills where two men were stabbed while preparing their work outside a bank building at approximately 6:45 a.m. One of the men survived and the other succumbed to his wounds. Beverly Hills Police Department launched an intensive investigation into this crime and was able to retrieve some very valuable evidence at the crime scene, clothing left by the unidentified suspect.  

On December 16, 2005, these clothing items along with the murder weapon were submitted to your Forensic Science Services Division through a joint powers agreement between our agencies. Orange County Forensic Science Division Forensic Examiner Russ Baldwin began a tedious search for DNA on the items if evidence. Forensic Examiner Baldwin was able to locate the DNA, profile the DNA found on these items and then was successful in linking the profile to a suspect in the California DOJ database. This suspect, Nathan Hall, a violent convicted felon, was arrested on December 22, 2005, eight days after this horrific crime, due to the fantastic work of Russ Baldwin.  

The trial of Hall began in February, 2007 and Russ Baldwin gave expert testimony on DNA profile and link to the suspect. On April 20, 2007, Nathan Hall was sentenced to 35- years-to-life for the murder of Jurgen Hapke and 19-years-to-life for the attempted murder of Helmet Mende. The DNA evidence was the only link our case had to the suspect. Please accept our sincere appreciation and gratitude for the great work of Russ Baldwin.

From the Garden Grove Police Department:  

“..We would like to thank you and your agency for your assistance in our 2007 Strawberry Festival. This year, the attendance was estimated to be 275,000 people, which created a very busy weekend.  

The assistance by your Explorer Post was vital in the success of the perimeter locations and with traffic control during the parade…I witnessed Explorers from your department interact with the public and with fellow explorers and was extremely impressed with their professionalism and politeness. Your young men and women should be commended on their hard work and willingness to provide quality assistance to our citizens. If it weren’t for your agency’s gracious assistance, this event would not have been possible…”

From the Huntington Beach Police Department: 

"...over the past several years, the Huntington Beach Police Department Robbery Unit has been involved in numerous bank robbery investigations. Investigator Dan Stack who is currently assigned to the FBI bank robbery task force will be retiring from your department in the near future. It will be a sad day for Orange County law enforcement the day Dan retires. He has become a legend in regards to his numerous bank robbery investigations over the years. Dan's expertise and commitment to his assignment have made him the true Orange County bank robbery expert. He is always a phone call away and has gone out of his way to help every police department in Orange County with bank robbery investigations. He always treated suspects with respect and completed very complex investigations in a timely manner. I don’t have exact numbers but I know he has put numerous armed and dangerous suspects behind bars, keeping the community safe.

…Please thank Dan for his dedicated years of service. The members of the Huntington Beach Police Department will truly miss him."