San Benito County Deputy Sheriff's Association

06/10/2026

Dear Residents of San Benito County,

The San Benito County Deputy Sheriff's Association wishes to inform our community of an important change in patrol operations affecting the City of San Juan Bautista. Beginning in early May 2026, the San Benito County Sheriff's Office suspended dedicated patrol coverage for the City of San Juan Bautista. This decision was made by Command Staff in response to the ongoing staffing crisis currently facing our department.

This didn't happen overnight. For over two decades, compensation and benefits that haven't kept pace with surrounding agencies have made it increasingly difficult to recruit and retain quality Law Enforcement Officers.

Since December 2025 alone, six sworn Deputies have left for other agencies, and that trend will continue without real, meaningful change.

The residents of San Benito County deserve better, and so do the men and women who serve them.

The San Benito County Deputy Sheriff's Association isn't here to point fingers. We're here because we believe the solution requires all of us; labor, management, and County leadership, working together toward a shared goal.

We remain committed to that collaboration and to building partnerships that deliver real, lasting change for the residents of San Benito County.


Respectfully,

San Benito County Deputy Sheriff’s Association

06/08/2026

Absolute gut-wrenching case. We are very happy and proud to say that he has been arrested and detectives were able to obtain a confession! May the baby rest in eternal peace, and prayers go out to the victim’s family.

06/03/2026

Good job Gentlemen!!!!

Proactive Case highlight!!!

Last night, on 06/02/2026, Deputy Slibsager contacted an adult male, parked in the parking lot of Taco Bell on Tres Pinos Road. Through speaking with the subject, Deputy Slibsager learned the adult male was on probation for a previous offense.

As Deputy Slibsager, and his partner, Deputy Rivas, began conducting a probation search of the male and his vehicle, Deputy Slibsager located two fi****ms inside the vehicle; An unserialized “P80 style” ghost gun, and a small .380 pistol, which had the serial number obliterated.

The adult male was ultimately lodged at the San Benito County jail for several firearm related violations.

Great work to Deputy Slibsager and his team!!

05/30/2026

A update on the disappearance of David Souza.

On 07/29/2025, David Souza was reported as a missing person by a close friend. Based on the circumstances, this case was treated as suspicous. Investigators have remained dedicated to this case and have been quiely conducting follow up and pursuing other leads.

On 05/27/2026, The San Benito County Sheriff’s Office CASPR task force conducted an additional search warrant of David Souza’s property and utilized ground penetrating radar.

The San Benito County Sheriff’s Office remains committed to this investigation and bringing closure to David’s loved ones.

We would like to publicly thank the California Department of Justice, San Benito County Public Works, and the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue K9 team members for their assistance in this case.

No further information is available at this time. The San Benito County Sheriff’s Office will not be providing any further comment at this time.

If you have any additional information regarding this case, it can be submitted to [email protected] via email or call 831-636-4080 ext. 491.

You can also anonymously submit a tip to crimestoppersusa.org or call 1-800-222-8477

05/21/2026

Several weeks ago, Deputy Rivas was working uniformed patrol when he observed a 2015 Ford Focus driving recklessly, making several abrupt lane changes and cutting off other motorists.

During the interaction, Deputy Rivas discovered the driver had been illegally carrying a firearm in his vehicle. The driver was ultimately lodged at the San Benito County jail for several charges.

This case highlights the benefits of proactively patrolling our county and interacting with the community, great work Deputy Rivas!

05/20/2026

STOLEN HORSES!!!

San Benito County horse community, we need your help!

On 05/16/2026, two horses were reported missing from a large property in the 36,000 block of Airline Highway. After discovering that a portion of the fence had been cut, investigators believe the horses were taken from the property.

On 05/19/2026, investigators spoke with a man who reported being contacted by an unidentified male along the I-5 freeway who was attempting to sell a registered APHA horse somewhere in the Central Valley. After becoming suspicious of the situation, the man left.

After doing his own research, the potential buyer found the victim’s report on NetPosse and contacted the owner, who then notified investigators.

With limited information available, investigators are asking the San Benito County horse community for assistance. If you or anyone in the area has been contacted by someone named John attempting to sell either of these horses, please contact Detective Buscher at 831-265-6948.

05/19/2026

Key point - in 2025 328 officers were shot in the line of duty. 35% of those shot worked for a small/rural agency. Very very scary being we are a small/rural agency employing less than 25 law enforcement officers who respond to calls…

Seven years of officer shooting data reveals a hard truth for small-town policing: violent attacks happen far from big cities, often where agencies have the fewest resources, backup and training support

05/19/2026

Every year, on National Peace Officers Memorial Day, First Responders gather around at Veterans Memorial park in Hollister and participate in a moment of silence for those taken from us in the line of duty the previous year.

It is important to us to keep their memory alive and recognize the weight of their loss.

Below are the listed Peace Officers who paid the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty in 2025.

Timothy Corlew- Riverside County Sheriff’s Office.
OEW: Wednesday Jan 9th,2025

Hector Cuevas Jr- San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Office.
EOW: Monday, March 17th, 2025

Osmar Rodarte- Marysville Police Department.
EOW: Wednesday, March 26th, 2025

Samuel Riveros- Baldwin Park Police Department.
EOW: Saturday, May 31st, 2025

Shiou Deng- Los Angeles Police Department.
EOW: Monday, June 23rd, 2025

Joshua Lemont Byrd- California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
EOW: Thursday, July 17th, 2025

William Osborn
Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department
Friday, July 18th, 2025

Joshua Kelley-Eklund
Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department
EOW: Friday, July 18th, 2025

Victor Lemus
Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department
EOW: Friday, July 18th, 2025

Lauren Craven
La Mesa Police Department
EOW: Monday, October 20th, 2025

Andrew Nuñez
San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department
EOW: Monday, October 27th, 2025

Alec Sanders
Alhambra Police Department
EOW: Thursday, November 20th, 2025

05/14/2026

05/13/2026

On 5/12/2026, marks the last shift Deputy Mitchell will be working. Deputy Mitchell has been employed with the San Benito County Sheriff’s Office for a little over 3 years and has worked all shifts of patrol, a fill-in school resource officer, and current drone pilot.

Deputy Mitchell was a great person to work with his calm demeanor and always positive attitude. He will be missed as he starts a new chapter in Law Enforcement with a different agency in Texas.

We wish him nothing but the best and a huge congratulations to him and him and his wife are beginning to welcome a new baby into this world. Good luck Deputy Mitchell and you will be missed!

With Deputy Mitchell’s departure, this makes the 6th deputy leaving due to pay and benefits, leaving us with a staggering drop of 24% in staffing levels, not including a few others that are in backgrounds with other agencies.

A point that some community members do not realize is that the Sheriff’s Office is approximately 18-24 MONTHS out from completely filling those positions as solo beat deputies, as they need to apply, be selected, interview, go through backgrounds and the hiring process, pass the police academy, and then pass the field training program.

Buckle up San Benito County, our quiet little community is going to see an increase in crime as we will not be able to adequately proactively patrol to combat crime due to our staffing levels…