Home » Santa Clarita News » Crime » Santa Clarita Deputies Search Nearly Two Dozen Homes During Probation Checks (VIDEO)
A couple of the Santa Clarita Valley deputies were gathered around the bed of a red pickup truck searching through a backpack on their probation search.
A couple of the Santa Clarita Valley deputies were gathered around the bed of a red pickup truck searching through a backpack on their probation search.

Santa Clarita Deputies Search Nearly Two Dozen Homes During Probation Checks (VIDEO)

A couple of the Santa Clarita Valley deputies were gathered around the bed of a red pickup truck searching through a backpack on their probation search.


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“The amount of time it’s going to take me to process all this evidence is going to be more time than the kid will get for this,” noted one of the detectives, as he pulled a mason jar filled with marijuana out of the backpack.

Four teams from the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station, and another from Los Angeles County’s Probation Department, conducted nearly two dozen searches Tuesday morning starting at 7 a.m.

The home on the 24200 block of Arch Street was one of 23 locations. The spots were picked at random from approximately 400 probationers (juvenile and adult) in the Santa Clarita Valley among more than 275,000 other residents. However, among those selected were addresses in particular considered of concern for deputies. 

This was the first time Meza’s home was searched, officials confirmed. 

“We’re conducting several searches in a proactive manner to make sure that if you are on probation, and you live in the SCV,” said Sgt. Dan Peacock of the station’s COBRA team, “we are going to come out and make sure that you aren’t violating your probation, and you’re living within the terms that the court has set for your probation.”

The COBRA team, or Career Offenders, Burglary, Robbery, Assault, focuses on gang-related offenses, and worked in concert with the Special Assignment Team, the Crime Impact Team and the Crime Prevention Unit.

At one of the first homes deputies went to, the person sought, Jose Meza, was not home. However, his brother and his girlfriend were home, and let in officers, who soon found evidence indicating Meza was not in compliance with his probationary terms, including the aforementioned mason jar.

“At this particular location, Mr. Jose Meza isn’t home, however his family members are, so we did search the inside of the house, and we found several pieces of evidence to indicate that he is in violation of his probation,” Peacock said. “We did talk to him on the phone, and he is going to come back and meet us here, and we will take him into custody when he gets here.”

Almost on cue, Meza returned home, handed over his phone, spoke with deputies and then was handcuffed and put in the patrol car.

Sheriff’s Station officials, including Captain Robert Lewis, were on scene, and eventually spoke with members of the probationer’s family, to let them know what’s happening and what their options are.

“One thing we want to do is make sure they stay on a straight and narrow path,” Lewis said. “Those individuals who are caught in violation of their probation, it is our way of being able to let them know that we are here to help them, and assist them through the court cases, and trials.”

 

KHTS AM 1220 - Santa Clarita Radio

Santa Clarita Deputies Search Nearly Two Dozen Homes During Probation Checks (VIDEO)

7 comments

  1. way to go scv sheriffs. …Lucky Mr. Mesa. you get to brag how they sent the Captain to check on you..

  2. I support the scv sheriff on trying to rid the heroin in this town along with other dangerous drugs. Keep up the good work

  3. Good job thank you for the hard work that the teams do for our community get them out of our beautiful neighborhood

  4. Much appreciated officers. It’s obvious you work hard to be proactive in reducing crime in th SCV.

  5. It is a very dangerous job. Be careful And thanks for making our city safe

  6. Good job, this is what we need to keep our kids safe out here.

  7. Good job officers. Thank you for your service. I believe this kind of follow-up will prove to have good results.

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About Perry Smith

Perry Smith is a print and broadcast journalist who has won several awards for his focused, hyperlocal community coverage in several different regions of the country. In addition to five years of experience covering the Santa Clarita Valley, Smith, a San Fernando Valley native, has worked in newspapers and news websites in Los Angeles, the Northwest, the Central Valley and the South, before coming to KHTS in 2012. To contact Smith, email him at Perry@hometownstation.com.