** NEWS RELEASE **
Suspect, Evan Jack Lewis of Mammoth Lakes.
MAMMOTH LAKES POLICE ARREST BURGLAR/ARSONIST
During the early morning hours of Wednesday, December 19, Mammoth Lakes Police Officers responded to a call of an intoxicated man who had just left a local hotel. While searching for the person in sub-zero temperatures, the two officers were called away to handle a domestic violence in progress call.
After handling that, they returned to the area of South Frontage Road to continue their search. While doing so they noticed that windows were broken at Jalapeno’s Restaurant on South Frontage Road and that there was smoke and heat inside the building. The Fire Department responded and put out a small fire that appeared to have been lit for warmth. The suspect was gone but it was determined that cash was missing from the register.
Officers were able to continue their search and more footprints were found which led to a residence on Callahan Way. The occupants were contacted and the officers’ investigation resulted in the arrest of Evan Jack Lewis, age 18, of Mammoth Lakes for burglary and arson. Evidence connecting Lewis to the crime at Jalapeno’s was recovered and he was booked at the Mono County Jail in Bridgeport.
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ill bet one of you knew this guy,knew he was a criminal and didnt do a thing about it.coooool eh?
The bunny eyes crack me up.
I can remember a few weeks ago…a story about crime in Mammoth Lakes and the reduction of Law Enforcement officers coming,and how it’s going to turn the area into the “wild,wild west”….with dangerous criminals allowed to do what they do…With this latest story,and arrest here,I got to ask (and chuckle while doing it )….is this one of those “dangerous” criminals some of the posters were refering to ?…Looks more to me like someone that could be on “World’s Dumbest Criminals “…..
Just give this Kid probation, he’s just a kid 🙂
Alroy….Doubt if you’d think that way if he broke into your home,or business,burgerized the place,and then before leaving wanted to warm up a little,so he set the place on fire….
They should have use “red eye reduction” on that picture.
this poor guy is just misunderstood,im sure its his first offense
Sean I’m sure that if there were no layoffs then this crime would not happen right? Give me a break.
Give you a break? Why? The crime would still happen, and the alleged perp would still be at large, emboldened to commit further crimes. No breaks for short sighted posters.
Then why don’t we make everyone a law enforcement officer, then there will be no crimes right? Crinimal activity will happen no matter what, but the key is to have a deterrent such as a very harsh punishment for the offender. Does anyone remember the country of Singapore and how that American teenager was canned for graffiti. I have been to that country and there is no graffiti anywhere.
Now look at the US, remember that person who broke into Schats Bakery and several other businesses before being caught in Bishop when he was robbing another establishment? He was out on parol, but prior to that he had a conviction of violating parol and prior to that he was convicted of a crime. Don’t you think if the punishment was to send him back to prision for the first parol violation in the first place would have prevented the subsequent crimes.
Now imagine if the punishment for Evan Jack Lewis was a prision sentence of 10 years or a sign he would have to carry around town stating his punishment, do you think he would commit another crime again. Also think of the others that see this punishment, I think most would consider the crime is not worth the punishment.
“alleged perp would still be at large, emboldened to commit further crimes” Sounds like speculation to me. I can’t back up this current justice system that systematically only serves and protects half the time while in these rural county’s they tend to take what they can get and make high priority out of petty crimes. And some do play by a different set of rules. Don’t get me wrong I believe in justice just NOT THE TYPE THAT CHERRY PICKS THE FACTS TO JUSTIFY THEIR OWN STANCE! And the waste of resources on petty crimes is ridiculous also.
These small community’s are naturally vigilant so why fear monger us.
The whole system needs a face lift, to help avoid the inevitability of out comes of this unsustainable way of life.
Steve- this crime would have still happened but others may not. The difference in this case is the suspect most likely would have got away and a building might have burnt down. Or maybe he would pass out and die in the snow. The cops may not have had the ability in investigate or there might not have even been any on duty.
I worked graveyard shift for years and on the nights where the patrol units had time to drive around and do proactive patrol cars did not get stolen, business and cars did not get usually get broken into, and crime was generally down. Literally on the other side of the tracks in LAPD’s area you would never see patrol cars. The neighborhood was plagued with gang violence and all types of property crime.
Imagine this guy was drunk and freezing to death and at 3 am starts forcing his way into the apartment of a 21 year old lifty girl. She calls 911. Oh but wait all the cops have gone home because we don’t have enough cops. Now imagine this girl is your daughter. The cops are responding, but it is either the CHP from Bridgeport, or maybe Mono Sheriffs from Crowley. If the suspect took advantage of the girl there is a world of difference between a one minute or less response time ( if we had Mammoth cops working), or a 20+ minute response from other departments responding from out of town. When cops arrive quickly lives are saved and suspects get arrested. When response times are long people can get killed, sexually assaulted, and escape.
I worked patrol full time for 10 years as an Officer and 3 years as a Reserve Deputy before that. I know what I am talking about and I have seen what happens when cops have a long arrival time. I will skip the details as they are bloody.
It is a NO BRAINER that this town MUST have at least two officers on duty at all times. If one of them has to go to Bidgeport to book an arrestee then an on call cop needs to be brought on duty. At peak times for town there must be four officers on duty during “prime times”.
Anything less than this and the city is gambling with citizen lives that it is charged with protecting. And the officers lives for that matter.
Hey I hope nothing bad happens and that Mammoth has the lowest crime rate in the world. I would rather have cops and firemen around and not need them than need them and have to wait 20+ minutes for them to find their way here from another area ( if the weather allows them to get here or if they are not tied up with calls for service in their own areas).
Steve I am going to guess you have no law enforcement experience. I am not trashing you for that. I am just saying you probably know a lot more about your occupation than I do and I would be foolish to try and tell you how to do your job or the best ways to go about it. Maybe consider you aren’t the most experienced or qualifed when it comes to law enforcement matters.
Excellent summary of what will likely happen when Mammoth PD gets past the point of cutting fat to where they are cutting bone. I’ve come to the conclusion that a city government’s chief priorities should police, fire/ems, and streets. The rest is just bonus but when it comes down to it. Sure, parks are nice to have but when the choice is safety or an ice skating rink or a park, the choice should at least a certain level of safety before the park is considered.
Also, while not a cop, I’ve worked in the law enforcement community for way too many years. I’ve said it before on previous stories but quite simply having one or no cops on duty in mammoth, especially during the tourist season by the bars, you will wind up with people getting hurt. One cop showing up for a fight between 4 people reacts much differently than when 2 or three cops show up. They have to, since they would like to go home in one piece, so the level of force they use is usually escalated. That means it goes from getting people separated with minimal force or commands to the nightstick or taser being deployed quickly. Undermanned cops tend to be a bit more heavy handed than when they have enough to use proper tactics, especially when their nearest backup may be 30 miles away on icy roads. But then, as unfortunately Mammoth is about to find out, you get what you pay for.
Just watch what happens when staff cuts take effect. The cuts being made to the PD are gambling with people’s lives and the safety of the community.
City council is trading public safety for tourist dollars.
GREED IS ALL IT IS.
Morons
Then why don’t you Pay their Fat Salaries, yea, try putting your money where your mouth Is, all talk & no play hahahaha
No, the morons are the ones who think we can do without tourists. We would dry up and blow away if it wasn’t for our tourism department.
dry up and blow away? That’s a precognitive worry yet to be proven.
You’re giving the tourism department way to much credit.
Families have been vacationing in Mono County for a hundred years.
it takes one to know one, eh Mark?
Yeah, the sky is falling too and we’re all gonna die! LOL!
Gimme a break!
“the sky is falling too and we’re all gonna die!”
That’s basically what SkiJohn is saying if we don’t spend money on tourism.
I say Gimme a break ;))