True Crime Blog
I’ve traveled plenty, for both personal and professional reasons. When flying, I always hope for a smooth ride through friendly skies. That doesn’t always happen. Before I went to Homicide, I was assigned to Special Investigations/Metro, and one of our responsibilities there was fugitive apprehension and extraditions. Every day someone from our unit was boarding…
Wayside Honor Rancho, later named the Peter J. Pitchess Detention Facility, is one of several jail facilities spread throughout Los Angeles County. It is also where I joined the ranks of “The Winos.” Wayside Located in the Santa Clarita Valley, it is unique in that it contains on its sprawling acreage several academy training firing…
This year has been a difficult one for most, terrible for some, and catastrophic for others. Who could argue that? So good riddance 2020, adios muchacha, bye Felicia, and don’t let the door hitcha where the good Lord splitcha. It Could’ve Been Worse And although it was bad, it could have been worse. Or maybe…
It happened. Yours truly contracted the dreaded coronavirus. I have to be honest. I haven’t lived in fear of catching it, though I have taken the threat of it seriously (as I wrote about in a previous post). I’ve believed its threat to be overstated by the media and used by many of our elected…
On National Daughters Day I posted on Facebook a lovely picture of me and my two daughters. Of course, there were the expected shots by some of my friends, giving thanks that the two beautiful young women gained their looks from their mom. I’m thankful for that myself. But also, there were several comments about…
NOTHING LEFT TO PROVE is a law enforcement memoir to be published sometime in the near future. It is the story of my career as a deputy sheriff with Los Angeles County, but it isn’t just a collection of war stories; rather, it is a compelling story of pain and healing, self-doubt and certainty, love…
Lil stood tied to my trailer, shaded from the late afternoon July sun by a stand of pine trees along my west property line. I sat a few feet away, sipping an ice-cold beer but not enjoying it, fighting back the tears that I’d soon not be able to contain. They had already streaked my…
George Ramos is a Firestone legend. He wasn’t a gunslinger nor a valiant leader of men, he didn’t hook and book and make the streets safe for women and orphans—at least not directly. At least not usually. He was our station mechanic, one who would respond to assistance requests armed with a crescent wrench. There…
When I first started at Metro, Bobby Mallon broke me in. I’ve written about the Special Investigations Bureau before, an LASD Detective Division assignment that is now called Major Crimes Bureau. When I went there in 1996, the Metro detail had recently assumed the responsibilities of the Fugitive detail when it was disbanded due to…
Law enforcement is shooting itself in the foot over COVID-19 and the questionably lawful orders they are being asked to enforce. Governors are releasing convicted felons from prison and sheriffs are emptying their jails, all in the name of COVID-19. Meanwhile, some officials are going after otherwise law-abiding citizens who dare to defy their orders…