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There is a new “resident deputy” in the highest-crime area of Calaveras County. Cpl. Rudi Leon, who has spent all seven years of his law enforcement career with the Sheriff’s Department, officially stepped into the role Tuesday. Sheriff Gary Kuntz revived the program, dormant for about a decade, in March 2011, shortly after his election. It calls on selected deputies to patrol the communities where they live and routinely attend events and visit schools in their assigned areas. Paul Newnam, based in Copperopolis, was the county’s first resident deputy.
In the coming weeks, the department also expects to nail down a site for a new substation in Valley Springs. Kuntz’s predecessor, Dennis Downum, shut it down as budgets tightened toward the end of his final term in office. Kuntz introduced Leon at a town hall event March 21 in Valley Springs. Leon said the meeting came on a busy day for the department, hours after an officer-involved shooting in Arnold. Leon said Tuesday that he plans to schedule meetings with homeowners in Rancho Calaveras, Gold Creek and other subdivisions to discuss a rise in residential burglaries in the area. First he will complete the final two weeks of a three-week hazardous materials training course he has started. The 38-year-old moved to Valley Springs from the Bay Area after finishing academy training in Contra Costa County. He initially felt it strange to live in a place where he could drive a mile or two between seeing lights from ranch homes at night. “Now when I go back to the Bay Area, I don’t like it. It feels too crowded,” Leon said. “I like it here.” A husband and father of four school-aged children, Leon said he devotes much of his free time to coaching youth soccer, softball and baseball. He played soccer, volleyball and a little basketball in high school but did not like the latter much. “They called too many fouls on me,” he smiled. He said he has encountered parents at practice who he has dealt with while on duty. Leon said he makes it clear to them “my job’s my job. I’m not going to bring it onto the field.” On the other hand, other parents have told him about concerns in their neighborhood that Leon said he dutifully passes on to supervisors when he punches the clock again. A native of Mexico, Leon said he understands the culture of Hispanic communities and hopes to better engage fellow native Spanish speakers in the area. “I know that many of them don’t trust police,” he said. “I can reach out to ask them to give me input.” Leon said he also wants to help educate the greater community about how to prevent crime. “I drive around and I see houses with the garage door open all night long and cars with the windows down. This doesn’t help the situation either,” he said. “Unfortunately we need to let residents know it’s not how it used to be. People come up here to get away from the big cities’ problems but sometimes they bring those problems here with them.”
Contact Sean Janssen at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or 890-7741. |