San Joaquin County Sheriff's Department

Established in 1849, the San Joaquin County Sheriff's Department provides police services for San Joaquin County, California. The current sheriff is Patrick Withrow, who heads a department of over 800 sworn and support personnel. He also serves as the county’s coroner.[1] Withrow replaced multi term sheriff Steve Moore.

History

On 20 October 1989, Detective Dighton Little, SWAT team member, was shot by a suspect during a joint raid conducted with the Stanislaus County Sheriff. Little broke a window and was shot by the resident, Richard Elsass. The other members of the team then killed Elsass. Police found no evidence of any crime at the location. In 1994 the Elsass family was paid $175,000.[2]

In 1999, Wesley Shermantine and Loren Herzog, were arrested by the department, and subsequently convicted of four murders. They were dubbed the Speed Freak Killers, due to their long history of methamphetamine use.[3] In 2012 Shermantine began to reveal the location of the bodies of his victims.[4] His maps led the sheriff to a secret graveyard near Linden. The number of body fragments found at the site has forced police agencies to reevaluate how many may have been killed by the pair.[5]

References
  1. SJCSD website retrieved on 18 Feb 2012, http://www.sjgov.org/sheriff/
  2. Rise of the Warrior Cop, by Radley Balko, Kindle Location 3154-75, 2013
  3. Serial Killer's Graveyard Opens California Town's Wounds, by Malia Wollan, 18 February 2012, New York Times
  4. Wesley Shermantine,'Speed Freak Killer,' Leads Police To Third Body, by Paul Elias, Huffington Post, 12 February 2012
  5. Serial Killer's Graveyard Opens California Town's Wounds, by Malia Wollan, 18 February 2012, New York Times
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