OCSD helps young homeless couple find housing
A married couple who had been living out of a car for months was placed into housing thanks to help from a dedicated OCSD team tasked with helping the homeless.
Lake Forest Homeless Liaison Officer Deputy Castro, along with OCSD’s South Homeless Outreach Team, came to know Jacob and his wife Jordan in his work with the homeless in the city. Over many months, Deputy Castro offered services from housing placement to job hunting.
“They’re very young – maybe in their early 20s -- and I remember I just kept telling them, ‘we have to help get you somewhere better,’” Castro said.
Deputy Castro said he didn’t know much of their backstory except the two recently were married and had a falling out with family. The couple couldn’t make ends meet and resorted to living in their vehicle and parking it in different locations around the city.
The couple would cycle from one beat-up vehicle to the next, calling each dilapidated car home until it broke down. It was a lifestyle that generated many calls for service from concerned residents.
On multiple occasions, Deputy Castro worked with the pair in an attempt to get them off the streets, but just when progress seemed imminent, plans would fall through or the couple wouldn’t show for a required meeting to move things forward.
“I stayed very patient,” Castro said. “We just kept working and trying to get them help.”
Castro stayed hopeful that the couple would one day take him up on his outreach efforts.
Recently, Castro learned the months of work between him and the Homeless Outreach Team paid off. Their vehicle, which sat immobile on a Lake Forest street, had a note scribbled on the windows in paint marker:
“Tow it. I want to thank Castro for believing in us. Thanks for everything. We got a place.”
“I was very humbled and happy for them,” Castro said. “It’s one of those moments where you see the outcome of all the work we put in. We always want to do outreach before we do enforcement and they are a prime example of that.”
Five things you can do right now to keep your home safe
Property crime continues to be the most reported crime in Orange County, but there are many steps you can take to safeguard your home. While the Sheriff’s Department is a proponent of installing home security systems and surveillance cameras, these are not always cost-effective solutions for everyone.
This doesn’t mean you can’t effectively protect your property. Here are some things you can do right now to prevent your home from being an easy target:
- Keep a well-maintained yard and lawn. Cutting back bushes and creating a front yard with high visibility is displeasing to burglars.
- Padlock your gate. If your back gate has a simple latch, consider buying a padlock at a local hardware store and locking it, even when you are home. Often time, burglars will test for easy-to-open gates to make entry into a home.
- Always lock doors and windows. Even on a hot day, don’t leave windows open when you are away from the home.
- Consider installing a security film on your doors and windows. The majority of home burglaries start with a smashed-in glass window or door. These films are a cost-effective way to prevent burglars from accessing your home.
- Enlist your neighbors. Communities with active Neighborhood Watch programs can be a strong deterrent to property crime. Even if your neighborhood doesn’t have a formal program, get to know your neighbors, look out for each other and report any suspicious activity.
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Lake Forest deputy’s proactive efforts thwart potential string of burglaries
Three men were arrested -- and a burglary plan potentially foiled -- after an observant deputy noticed suspicious behavior and initiated an investigative car stop in the city of Lake Forest.
At nearly 3 a.m. on Thursday, May 16, a deputy was patrolling a business complex area near the north dead-end area of Bridger Road. The deputy noticed an occupied Chevy Malibu with a man standing outside of it, appearing to block the license plate.
As the deputy approached, the man hurried back into the car and drove off.
The deputy conducted an investigative car stop and found three of the men had active arrests warrants for burglary. Kevin Jamine Reed, 19; Albert Demetrius Jackson, 18; and Jorge Anthony Martinez, 19, all were taken into custody and transported to the Orange County Jail.
The two other occupants of the vehicle were released – one with a citation for a vehicle code violation.
During a subsequent search of the vehicle, the deputy found tools for breaking glass.
“We believe this group of men were about to commit one or a several commercial or vehicle burglaries in the community, but their efforts were interrupted by our deputy,” said OCSD Lt. Chad Taylor, Chief of Police Services for Lake Forest. “This not only is a great example of proactive patrol work, but it is also emblematic of the commitment of our deputies in keeping our community safe.”
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15 arrested in DUI and Driver’s License checkpoint
The Orange County Sheriff’s Department Traffic Division arrested 15 people at Friday night’s DUI and Driver’s License checkpoint in the city of Dana Point.
Nearly 450 cars drove through the checkpoint, with 410 of those being screened for impaired or unlicensed drivers.
Three people were arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence: one for alcohol, one for drugs and one for a combination of the two.
Another 12 drivers were arrested on suspicion of driving unlicensed or with a suspended license. In addition, eight other drivers were cited for a variety of vehicle code violations, including speeding, running a red light and traversing a cone pattern.
The Sheriff’s Department receives grants from the California Office of Traffic Safety to conduct DUI and Driver’s License checkpoints after research has shown that conducting this enforcement, as well as advertising it, can reduce the prevalence of impaired driving.