After finding a seriously injured man lying in the street around 3 a.m. Sunday, Citrus Heights police are requesting assistance from the public to aid in their investigation.
Police said officers were called out to the 7200 block of Carriage Drive on the morning of June 7 and found the man in the roadway “with injuries consistent with being run over by a vehicle,” according to a police statement Tuesday morning. The man was taken to a local hospital with “major injuries,” but police said he is expected to survive.
Officers found no other involved people or vehicles in the area — located near Mesa Verde High School and Sylvan Middle School — and an extensive canvas of the neighborhood in search of possible witnesses or evidence was unsuccessful.
Although an investigation is still ongoing, police said they are currently “unable to determine” whether the incident happened at the location where the man was found, or if it may have occurred somewhere else. It is also unknown if the incident was intentional or not.
“We are looking for witnesses who may have seen or heard anything unusual or suspicious in the area of Carriage Drive in Citrus Heights around 3 a.m. the morning of June 7,” police said in a statement authored by Sergeant David Gutierrez. “We would also like to know if anyone has heard anyone speaking of an incident involving a pedestrian and a vehicle or has observed unexplained new damage to any vehicles.”
[Update: According to a Fox40 news report Tuesday night, the injured man’s bride-to-be has come forward, saying the two had planned their wedding for this Saturday. She said he doesn’t remember anything that happened, but was hit while coming home from his bachelor party. See news video here]
Police ask that anyone with information about this incident contact the Citrus Heights Police Department at 916-727-5500.
A sign on Auburn Boulevard alerted drivers of a Saturday DUI Checkpoint during a Memorial Day weekend crackdown in Citrus Heights.
Citrus Heights police were busy over Memorial Day weekend, reporting a total of 11 arrests, 13 vehicle tows and 37 citations issued during a two-night “Avoid the 15” DUI crackdown operation — with officers as far as Elk Grove coming to the city to help in the effort.
Kicking off the weekend with a Friday-night “saturation patrol,” officers from Rancho Cordova, Elk Grove and Sacramento police departments assisted in a four-hour crackdown effort, with roving patrols pulling over 69 vehicles and administering 11 field sobriety tests, according to Sergeant Gutierrez with the Citrus Heights Police Department (CHPD). Police said the operation resulted in five DUI arrests and four arrests for “non-DUI related crimes,” as well as 29 citations being issued for various violations — with about half from driving unlicensed or with a suspended license.
Officers set up a multi-agency DUI Checkpoint the following night on Auburn Boulevard near Twin Oaks Avenue, with CHPD reporting a total of 871 vehicles passing through the checkpoint. Gutierrez said two arrests were made and eight citations were issued. More than twenty officers were observed taking part in the effort, coming from Rancho Cordova and Sacramento police departments, as well as officers from Los Rios and the Sacramento County Probation Department.
The county-wide “Avoid” Task Force plans to organize checkpoints and DUI patrols again during Independence Day and Labor Day holidays, according to a press release from the Sacramento Police Department.
Law enforcement agencies receive funding for the task force by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Citrus Heights Mayor Sue Frost speaks to police Sgt. David Gutierrez during a May 14 council meeting where the sergeant was recognized for “heroic actions.” Photo courtesy, Sac Metro Cable 14.
Updated May 16, 5:01 p.m.–
During a council meeting Thursday, City leaders recognized Citrus Heights Police Sergeant David Gutierrez for “heroic actions,” after reports recently came to light about three situations where the sergeant responded to critical situations while off-duty, including pulling a trapped woman from a flaming vehicle before it exploded.
Citrus Heights Police Chief Christopher Boyd told council members of the first situation where Gutierrez was traveling on Grant Line Road in 2009 with his wife, daughter and newborn baby, when a driver made a sudden u-turn and the truck in front of Gutierrez’s car slammed into the side of the turning vehicle. Boyd told the council Gutierrez quickly grabbed a first aid kit and ran to the accident, finding a woman pinned inside and bleeding from her head, along with a young boy and a screaming two-year-old covered in glass.
While the sergeant’s wife called 9-1-1, Boyd said Gutierrez found that the young girl’s hand had been trapped between her car seat and a smashed-in door. After forcing the door open, he pulled both children to safety while medical personnel and others soon arrived to assist in the effort, according to Boyd, who said he learned details of the event from the sergeant’s wife.
Two years later, Gutierrez and his family were traveling on Highway 50 to go see Disney on Ice when a “giant modular home” being pulled by a truck tipped over sideways and skidded across the road, with the truck landing upside down and badly smashed. Boyd told the council Gutierrez pulled over and was able to kick open the passenger side door as the truck burst into flames. The off-duty sergeant found a woman upside down inside with a “huge gash to her head,” and was able to pull her to safety as a bystander doused the flames with a fire extinguisher.
Boyd said the third incident occurred last November when Gutierrez was driving with his wife and daughter on California’s Highway 89. After turning off Interstate 5 onto the dark, two-lane highway, they encountered brush on the road and observed a black SUV crashed into a tree with sparks coming from the engine. As his wife called 9-1-1, Boyd said Gutierrez got out and was almost hit by a motorist who was swerving to avoid the brush. After removing the brush hazard to avoid another accident, the police chief told council members Gutierrez ran to the crashed vehicle and found a woman with her leg pinned under the dashboard.
Boyd said the off-duty sergeant noticed the woman going into shock and diverted her gaze from a small fire that had begun in the engine compartment, directing her to focus on his face. Showing the council a photo of the flaming vehicle, Boyd said Gutierrez was able to pull the woman through the passenger side window just before a “deafening explosion filled the night and the Jeep went up in flames.”
“This woman could have burned to death if he had not driven down that road that day,” Chief Boyd told the council of Sergeant Gutierrez. “He represents humility, understands personal sacrifice, and knows that his purpose is to assist others and never hesitate to help when the need arises.”
Gutierrez was introduced to an applause, with Councilman Steve Miller calling him “super-Dave.”
“I was amazed and proud and honored that one of our CHPD — even on his off-times — is a hero, running into the danger and saving lives,” Mayor Sue Frost told Boyd and Gutierrez. “And I have to say that your wife probably is a very courageous woman to go on vacation with you now.”
The sergeant spoke briefly, commenting that it was “an extreme honor” to be recognized, but said he didn’t see it as an act of heroism. “It’s just something I think we should do for people that can’t help themselves,” he said.
Gutierrez also received the 2015 “Service above self” award from the Sacramento Rotary Club for his actions, after being nominated by the Citrus Heights Police Department.
On Wednesday, Citrus Heights police said detectives recently found digital evidence showing a “possible strong arm robbery” involving a man wearing a gorilla mask, believed to have occurred on April 20 around 1:54 p.m.
Photo released by the Citrus Heights Police Department of a masked robbery suspect believed to have been involved in an April bike theft.
According to a police news release, still images and video footage show an unidentified victim being confronted by the masked man, who robbed him of his bike. The digital evidence also indicates there were several other “unknown” persons present during the robbery.
Police said no reports have been made with similar circumstances to agencies in the region, and detectives are asking for the community to help in locating the victim and identifying the masked “gorilla” man.
Detectives believe the masked robbery suspect and “additional unknown subjects” may have committed other robberies in the region and request the public’s help in identifying others who may have been victimized by the masked man as well.
Police describe the masked suspect as a white male adult with a height of about 5-feet-eleven-inches and a “medium build.”
Those with information about the identity of either the suspect or victim(s) are “strongly encouraged” to contact the Citrus Heights Police Department at 916-727-5500.
Updated April 27, 2:08 p.m. —
Events and activities going on around Citrus Heights this week include several “SWAT team up close” presentations, a community marching band yard sale, an international writer’s event at the community center, and more.
Kicking off the week on both Monday and Tuesday night, the Citrus Heights Police Department’s SWAT team will be finishing off their April tour of neighborhood association meetings around the city. SWAT members will show a video highlighting the team’s training and leaders, and will also display tactical equipment used in emergencies and answer any questions from the community.
The Sylvan Old Auburn Road neighborhood meeting will be on April 27 at 7 p.m. in the Sylvan Community Center at 7521 Community Drive, and the Sunrise Ranch Neighborhood meeting will be on April 28 at 7 p.m. at Twin Oaks Avenue Baptist Church at the corner of Mariposa Avenue and Twin Oaks. Both meetings will highlight the SWAT team presentation, along with covering regular business.
In addition to the weekly Farmer’s Market held behind Sunrise Mall each Saturday from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., this Saturday will feature the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators’ annual 2015 Spring Spirit conference at the Citrus Heights Community Center. According to the international organization’s website, the 11th annual conference is open to non-members and will feature Dreamworks animator Colin Jack this year.
Also this weekend, the Citrus Heights Community Marching Band will be holding its annual Spring Yard Sale from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on May 1-3 and May 8-10 at 7620 Linden Ave. in Citrus Heights. Proceeds from the sale go directly to support the band, helping provide for items like uniforms, instruments and liability insurance, according to CHCMB Program Director Kathy Cook.
Check back next week for more May events, including free outdoor movie nights, a Building Safety Month kick-off event, and upcoming Police Activites League events.
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A severed power pole lies in the street on San Juan Avenue near Greenback Lane, shutting down traffic, Friday.
Updated 5:17 p.m.–
With a severed power pole and dangling wires in the street, all directions of traffic at Greenback Lane and San Juan Avenue were shut down for several hours Friday morning, due to a collision involving several vehicles, an electrical pole and a big rig.
“I heard a snap,” said Bill Devey, a driver who witnessed the incident. “And then the pole came on top of my truck… and then there was an explosion.”
Devey said he believed a big rig pulled down a power pole and dragged it for several feet until realizing what happened.
“I thought we were gonna die,” said a woman whose car was visibly scarred from electrical damage and preferred not to give her full name. She said electrical wires were sparking across the ground, and was instructed to stay in the vehicle for safety.
Emergency personnel with the Citrus Heights Police Department and Sac Metro Fire responded to the scene, with CHPD Senior Dispatcher Stephen Rodwell later confirming a big rig had hit some wires and pulled down two utility poles.
Rodwell said only minor injuries were reported and does not believe anyone was sent to the hospital. He said lanes at the intersection were re-opened by 1 p.m., although SMUD repair crews were still blocking off several turn lanes at the intersection around 4:30 p.m.
SMUD’s online power outage map indicates an outage occurred at the intersection just after 9 a.m. Friday, with about 400 customers losing power.
Citrus Heights police released these two photos this week, hoping the public can help identify an armed robbery suspect.
Citrus Heights police released photos this week in an effort to help identify a suspect in an armed robbery police say took place on March 14 at a business near Antelope Road on Tupelo Drive.
Around 9:50 a.m., police said officers responded to the 6400 block of Tupelo Drive in Citrus Heights for a report of an armed robbery, with officers determining the suspect “brandished a firearm” while robbing the business, according to a police news release.
The robbery suspect is described as a Hispanic male in his early to mid-20’s, with a “slender build” and height of about 5 feet 6 inches. He was wearing a baseball cap, hooded sweatshirt and baggy jeans, and had tied-back braided hair and a light mustache.
Police said he was seen fleeing into the passenger’s side of the two-door green sedan shown in one of the two surveillance photos released.
Saying “violent crime cannot be tolerated,” the release said police hope family and friends may already be aware of the crime, or can recognize the individual or vehicle in the photos released.
Sergeant Michael Wells said the robbery “appears to be random” and does not believe the business was targeted for any specific reason.
Police said anyone with information about the suspect or vehicle pictured is “strongly encouraged” to contact the Citrus Heights Police Department at (916) 727-5500 or (916) 727-5849.
Citrus Heights police said a 32-year-old man has been arrested after turning himself in Thursday morning, following the death of a woman police said had severe assault-related injuries — making it the third homicide in the city this month.
William Patrick Hendrickson, booking photo. Provided by Citrus Heights police.
On Thursday morning around 1:45 a.m., police said officers responded to a report of an assault near Auburn Boulevard on the 7500 block of Cook Avenue.
Officers responding to the scene found a female with “severe injuries” who was taken to a local hospital where she was later pronounced deceased, according to a police news release.
Police said the woman’s injuries “were consistent with an assault,” leading detectives to begin a homicide investigation on scene. Detectives shortly identified a potential suspect who “was known to the victim but was no longer at the scene.” Around 3 a.m., “the suspect contacted police dispatch and advised that he wanted to turn himself in,” according to the news release.
Police said the suspect, identified as William Patrick Hendrickson, was taken into custody “without incident,” and was booked in the Sacramento County Jail for homicide.
In what has turned out to be a deadly March for Citrus Heights, this latest case is the third homicide arrest police have made this month. On March 6, police made an arrest in the shooting death of a 22-year-old near Greenback Lane, and most recently arrested a 48-year-old man in the case of a murdered woman who also showed signs of assault.
According to Sergeant Michael Wells, in all three homicide cases, the suspects and victims were known by each other. He also said arrests have been made in all three cases, with “no outstanding subjects in any of the homicides.”
Police said an arrest has been made for the murder of a 46-year-old Citrus Heights woman who was found unresponsive in her home on Monday, according to a news release from the Citrus Heights Police Department.
Allen Franks. Source, Citrus Heights Police Department.
Police said 48-year-old Allen Bocteemus Franks was arrested and charged with murder, after officers found him driving the victim’s minivan near Marysville Boulevard on Tuesday. Police said Franks was detained and questioned before being booked in the Sacramento County Jail for the murder of Kimberly Chittenden.
The incident began Monday afternoon when officers responded to a home on the 7900 block of Rocky Point Court near Kingswood Drive and Sunrise Boulevard, finding Chittenden “unresponsive with visible injuries.” Officers sought to administer “life saving measures” until medical personnel transported her to a hospital where she was pronounced deceased, according to police.
Detectives began investigating on scene due to the victim’s injuries being “consistent with an assault,” with police later requesting assistance from the public and other law enforcement agencies to help locate the victim’s 2008 Honda Odyssey — which was determined to be missing from the garage.
Following the arrest, police said the investigation indicates that Franks and Chittenden knew each other.
Chittenden’s death is the second homicide this month in Citrus Heights, with police making an arrest on March 6 in the shooting death of 22-year-old Shaun Blechinger.
Photo released by Citrus Heights police showing various weapons seized, Tuesday.
Citrus Heights police released additional information tonight regarding Tuesday’s SWAT raids, reporting the seizure of numerous firearms, ammunition, narcotics and $93,000 in cash, following the execution of search warrants at three locations in the city.
Police said gun seizures included three AK-47’s, one Mac-10, a Tec-nine, and 17 other various weapons – including hundreds of rounds of ammunition and several gun silencers, according to a press release Wednesday.
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The Department also reported detectives found approximately two pounds of methamphetamine and six pounds of marijuana.
Police said the seizures were related to an active investigation into illegal weapons sales, and also resulted in three arrests.
Referencing the multiple agencies involved in Tuesday’s events, CHPD’s Investigations Lieutenant Doug Fletcher said the Department is “proud of the skill and determination demonstrated by all law enforcement personnel involved in this case.”
