By Christy Scott
The Alpine Sun

     ALPINE — At its regular weekly meeting on Feb. 14, the Kiwanis Club of Alpine honored local law enforcement officers chosen by their departments for their service to the local community. The honorees were Officer Michael Edwards of the California Highway Patrol, Thomas R. Watson of the U.S. Border Patrol and Detective Richard Bolter of the Alpine Sheriff’s office.
     The presentations were made by Captain Theresa Sumprer of the CHP; John. A. Sylva, Acting Field Operations Supervisor of the U.S. Border Patrol; and Lt. Tony Salazar of the Alpine Sheriff’s Department. In addition, each honoree received a resolution from 77th State Assemblyman Joel Anderson’s office, presented by Field Representative Rorick Luepton.

Alpine Sheriff Deputy Richard Bolter
     Deputy Richard Bolter has been elected 2nd Vice President of the San Diego Chapter of the International Police Association. His duties include hosting and coordinating law enforcement visitors from around the world. He recently hosted first time visitors to the U.S. from Italy and Denmark. Deputy Bolter showcases the department with patrol ride-alongs, tours of various Sheriffs’ facilities and personal greetings with command staff. Deputy Bolter represents the department in a positive light to his international guests.
     Deputy Bolter wrote and served 13 search warrants during the past year. One of the warrants included service on 2 residences with 20 officers from three different agencies. Deputy Bolter maintains a high proficiency in his ability to write search warrants. He is always venturing into groundbreaking areas of search warrant case law. Deputy Bolter has earned the respect of District Attorneys and Judges for his judgment and the content of his search warrants.
     Some highlights from investigations conducted by Deputy Bolter during the past year are as follows:
One case Deputy Bolter investigated involved a DNA match on a blood stain left at a burglary scene. Deputy Bolter was able to locate the suspect and interview him. Deputy Bolter continued to interrogate the suspect who finally admitted to the entire crime.
     Deputy Bolter used his experience and interrogation techniques to close a residential burglary with strong evidence and a full confession. This is typical of the type of investigative work that Deputy Bolter routinely performs.
     Deputy Bolter investigated a series of over ten residential burglaries during the month of March 2008. Most of the burglaries involved front doors being kicked in. There was very little evidence left at the burglary scenes. Deputy Bolter learned that San Diego Police had arrested two suspects with a few items from two of the burglaries. He interviewed both suspects and tried to gather information to solve the other cases. He was successful and used the information to conduct a search at a residence in Lakeside.
     Deputy Bolter recovered a large amount of stolen property. The search also resulted in three felony arrests at the scene. The primary suspect pled guilty to felony burglary charges; she received two felony strikes and six years in prison. The second suspect pled guilty to felony stolen property charges. The series ended with the arrest of the suspects.
     Deputy Bolter participated in a countywide investigation of a commercial burglary ring. The ring would travel to shopping malls stealing large amounts of expensive clothing. The investigation team included El Cajon and San Diego P.D. The ring hit stores from San Ysidro to the Viejas Outlet Center.
     Deputy Bolter was able to use his tracking skills to follow the suspects to several malls. He participated in several multi-agency rolling surveillance operations. Deputy Bolter, by himself, followed the suspects to the Viejas Outlet Center. He observed some of the ring members leave the outlet center with a booster bag. A traffic stop was initiated and a bag of stolen clothing was recovered.
     Two suspects were arrested and they both pled guilty to theft charges. Important intelligence was collected from the suspects about the operation of the ring. SDPD made additional arrests based on the information obtained.
This is typical of the work that Detective Bolter performs here in Alpine every single day. He is a true asset to the community, the Station, and the Department as a whole and is deserving of the nomination of Alpine Kiwanis Deputy of the Year.

CHP Officer Michael Edwards
     Officer Michael Edwards reported to the El Cajon area in February of 1996. He is a well-rounded officer whose duties include felony follow-up officer, IT officer, range instructor, fitness coordinator and driving instructor.
     Officer Edwards has established himself as a respected expert in the field of accident reconstruction. He is an associate member of the California Highway Patrol’s esteemed Multi-Casualty Accident Investigation Team (MAIT), and is currently a member of the El Cajon’s Area’s Special Investigation Unit, which takes the lead in complex fatality investigations and other high profile cases occurring within CHP jurisdiction.
     Officer Edwards has responded to hundreds of major accident and crime scenes and has assisted in the documentation of evidence or has been the lead investigator for the incident. He conducts thorough investigations, including accident reconstruction, scene documentation, filing cases and writing search warrants.
     He is the first to assist his fellow officers with putting cases together for submission to the District Attorney. Many of his investigations have resulted in convictions for murder, felony manslaughter and other major felonies.
     Officer Edwards’ friendly and professional attitude has been recognized by his peers, CHP management, and the District Attorney’s office, as well as from other agencies that work closely with him. He is a major asset to the El Cajon area CHP and to the community he serves.

U.S. Border Patrol Agent Thomas R. Watson
     Senior Patrol Agent Thomas R. Watson is very deserving of the Kiwanis Club Outstanding Agent Award. This is not based on one single act, but on an accumulation of his overall consistent outstanding work performance.
     Agent Wilson entered on duty with the U.S. Border Patrol Nov. 17, 1997 and on Aug. 11, 2002 he was promoted to Senior Patrol Agent at the El Cajon station. Agent Wilson is a stellar performer. He is skilled in all phases of the Border Patrol Agent job. In his current assignment as a Canine Handler, Agent Watson sets high standards of personal performance on a daily basis. He has shown a high level of enthusiasm, energy, and creativity during his daily assignment and his work ethic is commendable. He routinely performs well above and beyond what is expected, motivating others to do the same.
     His contributions to the El Cajon station have directly resulted in a marked increase in border security. Agent Watson and his canine parted, Senna, were responsible for over 300 apprehensions, just in the months of April and May alone. He was also involved in the discovery and seizure of two semi-tractor trailers loaded with undocumented aliens. Those high-profile events served to produce actionable intelligence, generate significant criminal prosecution, and foster communications with other agencies conducting ongoing investigations into similar events.
     Agent Watson is an outstanding role model for all agents. He has served as a mentor to our Intern Agents by sharing knowledge of Border Patrol operations with them. He is an asset to the El Cajon Station and his exceptional efforts have contributed significantly to the mission of the United State Border Patrol.

 

CHP: Captain Theresa Sumprer, Officer Michael Edwards. USBP: Thomas R. Watson, John. A. Sylva, Acting Field Operations Supervisor of the U.S. Border Patrol. Alpine Sheriff Department: Detective Richard Bolter and Lt. Tony Salazar.