By Mary-Justine Lanyon
“We have a great group of deputies. They really care about the community – they are here for the right reasons.”
That’s what Lt. Mauricio Hurtado of the Twin Peaks Sheriff’s Station told members of the Crestline-Lake Gregory Rotary Club at their Feb. 22 meeting.
He added that “this is a breath of fresh air for me. They are a close-knit group of individuals.”
Currently there are 17 deputies assigned to the Twin Peaks station. The board of supervisors approved the addition of three more deputies. “That has to be funded,” the lieutenant said. “We won’t let them forget – it will make a huge difference.”
The deputies from Twin Peaks cover the area all the way from Lake Silverwood to Green Valley Lake. The Arctic Circle is the cutoff; Big Bear covers the territory beyond it.
With three deputies serving on each shift, there is a lot for them to cover. “We have to prioritize calls according to imminent danger,” Lt. Hurtado said.
Looking back to last year’s Snowmageddon, he said they are “more prepared now.” The storm showed them some of their limitations.
During COVID, the county shifted the emergency operations services from County Fire to the Department of Public Health. “That was great when dealing with the pandemic but, when an actual emergency – fire, avalanche, snow – occurs, they don’t have the experience Fire has.”
That, Lt, Hurtado said, “caused a huge hiccup in the rollout of services (during Snowmageddon) and delayed them. We had people self-deploying – their hearts were in the right place but got in the way of us delivering services.”
The sheriff’s department commissioned a report on how things could be done better. As a result, emergency operations services were shifted back to Fire.
The Twin Peaks Sheriff’s Station recently took delivery of a Sno-Cat that Lt. Hurtado calls “a beast.” (Photo: Twin Peaks Sheriff’s Station)
Lt. Hurtado was pleased to report they had just taken delivery of a Sno-Cat, the purchase of which was approved by the board of supervisors. Third District Supervisor Dawn Rowe, the lieutenant said, spearheaded that purchase for the Twin Peaks station.
“It’s a beast,” he said. It will seat four people, has a shovel on the front to move snow and is on tracks. “It’s built like a tank. It’s a big deal for our station to have it. If there’s an emergency somewhere, four deputies can get on the Sno-Cat and respond.”
Deputies from the Twin Peaks station recently served search warrants and made arrests at three suspected drug houses on the mountain. “We are trying to take down as many locations as we can,” Lt. Hurtado said.
Deputies, he noted, have been “tackling drug houses feverishly.” Some they became aware of through the We-Tip hotline. “We do follow-up investigations to develop probably cause,” he said.
They also stopped cars going in and out of those areas, developing information to serve search warrants. And some of the warrants came out of “old-fashioned police work.”
They also recently broke up an identity theft ring. The people involved had ID-making machines where they could create driver’s licenses. “They were purchasing cars with them online,” Lt. Hurtado said. “They would apply online, then submit the stolen ID and credit card information. You have no idea it has happened until you get the bill.”
Citizens on Patrol is once again active, after a moratorium was put on the members’ service hours during the pandemic. Some COPs did not return so they are still rebuilding. One member – Nate Armstrong – put in 1,381 hours in 2023. “He’s a great guy,” Lt. Hurtado said.
The lieutenant told the Rotarians he has been with the sheriff’s department for 24 years. He was assigned to the Twin Peaks station in August 2023 after Craig Harris was promoted from lieutenant to captain and took over command of the station.
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