KHTS Radio Santa Clarita Radio – Santa Clarita News
Deputy Arthur Pelino, was killed 46 years ago Tuesday in Gorman, after a detained suspect managed to gain access to the deputy’s firearm and shoot him.
On March 19, 1978, Deputy Pelino arrested a “mentally deranged” suspect, Terry Lynn Zachery, who was known to be violent, according to the Officer Down Memorial Website.
Once Zachery was in custody, Pelino canceled his backup request due to the suspect being detained in a jail cell in his office, according to the memorial.
Zachery was able to escape the jail cell and was able to gain access to Pelino’s firearm and shoot and kill him.
After Pelino did not return to their home located behind the station, two of Pelino’s children found him dead at his office with the suspect calmly sitting in the deputy’s chair.
Pelino’s wife, Patricia, was able to get the suspect into a cell and call for assistance, according to officials.
At the time of his death Deputy Pelino had been with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department for 21 years and was assigned to the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station, officials said in a social media post in memory of Pelino.
Deputy Pelino left behind his wife, three sons and three daughters.
His spouse, Patricia Pelino, passed away on April 21, 2018, according to officials.
Zachery was arrested and served 2 and a half years in prison for involuntary manslaughter, according to officials.
In 2019, over 70 recruits did a color run at Six Flags Magic Mountain honoring Pelino along with three other Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s deputies who have been killed in the line of duty.
Pelino was 50 years old when he was killed.
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Below is a posting from 2015 about care rendered to Patricia Pelino by the LA County Sheriff’s Department:
Loss of a Sheriff and Husband: Patricia Pelino
Caring for those who are hospitalized allows recognition of impalpable forces that go beyond healing skills of doctors and nurses. Many times it involves subtle clues surrounding patients from unexpected sources supporting their health and survival.
Patricia Pelino was hospitalized and recovering from an infection. One day, knowing her nearby son and daughter were out of town, there were flowers at her bedside, not atypical in a hospital setting. Unique though, they came from the SCV Sheriff’s Department delivered by Sergeant Jeff Curran. “They’re calla lilies” she murmured softly, “my husband’s favorite.
Thirty seven years ago, Deputy Arthur Pelino, a Santa Clarita Valley sheriff, was killed in the line of duty serving our community. Patricia was left a widow, having to raise six children.
Recently in the news is the unbearable thought of your child leaving home and not returning. Just as difficult is the thought your law enforcement spouse might not return home. Understanding our shared fear of these problems may hopefully one day lead to a common solution.
They “courted” for five years, got married and had their family. Initially Art worked for General Motors, but then went though training at the Los Angeles County Sheriff Academy graduating March 19, 1959 so he could serve his community. While he “brought home the porridge”, she remained Mama Bear.
Not stereotypic, he didn’t like donuts; and was not a drinker or smoker. “Foremost, he had great respect for his colleagues and the public, bringing this sense of responsibility with him to work every day.”
“He loved flowers, especially calla lilies, but wasn’t a good gardener. Our six kids kept us busy, but he was always there to help me, washing dishes and doing laundry, and trying to keep a neat home. He was a great dad, and a good guy.”
Most of all, “every night he would fill my face with kisses, so I would have pleasant dreams, and every day when he left, we would kiss and wave good bye. He was very special to me and kept me warm at night.”
Deputy Arthur Pelino was patrolling 30 miles north of Santa Clarita near Gorman when he pulled over a driver, who shot and killed him. This was March 19, 1978, exactly 19 years after graduating from the LASD Academy. Mama Bear was now alone, but she and her kids still had family, the Los Angeles County Sheriffs who have helped them ever since. “I wouldn’t have made it without them, financially and emotionally.” Pelino Art plaque 2-27-2015
Losing her husband made her suffer, but the resultant verdict against the perpetrator made her irate. “He received three years in prison. It meant to me that’s all my husband’s life was worth as a law enforcement officer, and it made his colleagues targets.”
Over the years, Patricia kept her family together, and two of her children who live in the area acknowledge what a wonderful Mama Bear she has been. She is now bedridden, emotional scars well-healed, and her “family” close by. But there are no more nightly kisses, and no more waves good bye. The struggle was made much more difficult on that March day when her husband didn’t return home.
Discharged from the hospital, and as I was leaving her residence, she asked the covers be pulled over her. Shadows of calla lilies were on her sheets.
They are still keeping her warm at night.
Gene Uzawa Dorio, M.D.
https://scvphysicianreport.com/2015/03/04/loss-of-a-sheriff-and-husband-patricia-pelino/