Irvine Public Safety Awards
Wednesday, August 01, 2012
Irvine Rotary Club meeting at the Irvine Police Department - August 1, 2012
Irvine and its residents enjoy one of the safest communities in the United States because of Irvine’s fine police department and the support and involvement of community citizens.
The Irvine Rotary Club celebrated another Public Safety Award presentation at the Irvine Police Department’s headquarters. Police Commander John Hair explained “The award is a partnership between the rotary club and police to recognize citizens in the community who help reduce crime in their community.”
Sergeant Tom Goodbran, who protects the University area, described the incident which was the subject of the Public Safety Award Presentation. The incident occurred in the Spring of 2012 under his watch. Two citizens in Irvine, Brent Martelis and Luis Martinez, helped another citizen in distress on a Wednesday afternoon at 3 p.m. The suspect, a 20 year old male, stole a woman shopper’s purse as she was placing items in her vehicle. The victim chased the robber, yelling for help.
Luis Martelis and his co-worker, Luis Martinez, quickly pursued the suspect and called the Irvine Police for help. The suspect ran and eventually hid behind a dumpster. When he was located by Martelis and Martinez, however, he threw money from the suspect’s purse at them, hoping they would be more interested in the money than chasing him. Unfortunately for him, Martelis and Martinez continued their pursuit. The suspect jumped over a wall and they pursued him until they caught him and held him down.
Police officers arrived shortly thereafter to arrest the suspect. Thanks to the quick thinking and bravery of Martelis and Martinez, the police arrested a dangerous repeat offender, who would likely not have been apprehended prior to police arrival. All of the property was recovered and returned to the victim. The suspect has since pled guilty.
Congratulations to Brent and Luis for your brave involvement in keeping our community safe!
After the Public Safety Award presentation, the Irvine Police provided Rotarians with a tour of Irvine Police headquarters.
