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Homeowner Fatally Shoots Armed Intruder During San Jacinto Home Invasion

Michael Peterson — Sun, 07 Jun 2026 07:13:03 +0000

A fatal shooting inside a San Jacinto home Friday night is under investigation after authorities said a homeowner shot and killed an armed intruder during an exchange of gunfire.

Deputies from the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office responded around 10:23 p.m. to the 1300 block of Heron Way after receiving reports of an assault with a deadly weapon.

Upon arrival, deputies discovered evidence of a shooting and located a man suffering from what appeared to be a gunshot wound. The man was pronounced dead at the scene.

According to investigators, the homeowner had been visiting a nearby residence when he heard screams and gunshots coming from his own home. He immediately returned and encountered an unknown man inside the residence who was armed with a shotgun.

Sheriff’s officials said the homeowner armed himself and confronted the intruder. During the confrontation, the suspect allegedly fired several rounds at the homeowner, who returned fire, striking the intruder.

The suspect was pronounced dead at the scene. Authorities said no other injuries were reported.

As part of the investigation, the homeowner was transported to the San Jacinto Sheriff’s Station for questioning. No arrests have been made.

The identity of the deceased is being withheld pending notification of family members.

The Riverside County Sheriff’s Central Homicide Unit is leading the investigation. Once completed, the case will be forwarded to the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office for review.

Anyone with information regarding the incident is encouraged to contact Central Homicide Investigator Cook at 951-955-2777 or San Jacinto Station Investigator Ghiliotty at 951-654-2702.

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Second Riverside Sheriff’s Deputy Dies of COVID-19

City News Service — Fri, 03 Apr 2020 22:00:00 +0000

(Deputy Dies of COVID-19)

RIVERSIDE (CNS) – A second Riverside County sheriff‘s deputy has died due to COVID-19, authorities said today.

Deputy David Werksman, a 22-year veteran, is survived by his wife and three children, said Riverside Sheriffs’ Association President Bill Young.

“His death due to COVID-19 is the latest excruciating loss as a result of the silent killer COVID-19 for our association and the law enforcement community,” Young said. “His death is a grim reminder of the risks that our members face every day, serving the public in the face of this pandemic.”

Werksman died on Thursday, the sheriff’s department announced.

He was last assigned to sheriff’s administration. Earlier in his career he held posts at the Jurupa Valley and Lake Elsinore sheriff’s stations, and the Riverside jail, according to Young.

Werksman was later assigned to the department’s Hazardous Device Team, becoming an FBI Certified Public Safety Bomb Technician, a HAZMAT specialist and a radiologic/nuclear first responder, among other accomplishments while at the department, Young said.

On Thursday, Deputy Terrell Young, a 15-year veteran, died of COVID- 19, the sheriff’s department reported.

Sheriff Chad Bianco said Young worked at the Byrd Detention Center and was evidently exposed to COVID-19 during the week of March 15-21 while transporting an inmate to the Riverside University Medical Center in Moreno Valley for an examination.

Bianco said on Thursday that since that time, 25 sheriff’s employees have been diagnosed with coronavirus, along with 11 inmates at the southwest jail, which has capacity for 1,200 detainees.

“We ask that the community keep Deputy Werksman’s family and colleagues in their prayers during this extremely emotional and challenging time,” said Riverside Sheriffs Association President Young, who is not related to Terrell Young.

“It is hard to imagine that just 24 hours ago, our department was in pain due to the COVID-19 death of Deputy Terrell Young. Our members are heartbroken and hurting. Deputy Werksman spent his life serving the community and working to make our Riverside County a better place,” Young said.

“As first responders, Deputy Werksman and Deputy Young served on the front lines of an invisible beast,” Young said. “Yet, they both demonstrated in this crisis and every day their dedication and sacrifice.”

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Drug Bust

Kyle Headlee — Sun, 16 Jun 2019 14:00:45 +0000

Hemet Sheriff’s joined the National Guard and many other police departments in Anza, CA., on the morning of June 5th, 2019. They have been working on this case for some time and June 5th was the day where they would strike. Over 140,000 plants were seized with a collected estimated street value of nearly $190 million. The scene was crazy up in Anza with hundreds of officers and soldiers working together to clean up the town. Officers were armed with military grade assault rifles, there were multiple military vehicles spread out around Anza and military helicopters surveying the skies for runaways and farms. When it was all said and done, law enforcement found 3,000 pounds of processed marijuana that was ready to start making its way out of state where supposedly the street value is higher than it is in California currently.

This particular drug bust goes down as one of the largest in California history, eight people were arrested that day and some more arrests are expected to be made.The criminals who organized the farms are facing multiple charges that will most likely result in many years behind bars. These people were not just “innocent growers” operating within their rights, officers also found 27 firearms varying in types from pistols to illegal assault weapons. All in all this was a great showing by the Hemet Sheriff’s department, who worked all day clearing farms and greenhouses. Sheriff Bianco’s crew acted swiftly and were successful, fortunately no officers were harmed during the operation making this a great testimony to Sheriff Bianco’s effort to clean up the streets of Hemet & San Jacinto. Even though this bust took place in Anza it has a direct effect on our community, it is like Sheriff Bianco is putting criminals on notice, he is here to do what he said he would do.

A lot of Anza residents spoke out on the matter and many were thankful for the law enforcement shutting down the grow operations in their town. They said that in the last few months crime has been on the rise and have noticed more gang members around than usual. Things have been disappearing in the middle of the night at multiple peoples locations and there was even a murder at one of the farms just hours before the drug bust went down.

The Hemet Sheriffs will keep the pressure on illegal growing/distribution of marijuana and with crime rates dropping around the city, I would expect them to crack down even harder on such infractions in hopes that it will help end gang/cartel business in our local area. This bust should encourage people who own legal businesses to operate within their guidelines, because if they don’t Sheriff Bianco’s crew may be knocking down your door any day.

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