The smell of onions wafted through the farm workers’ patio
eating area at George Chiala Farms on Hill Road. It was 9 a.m. on a
Wednesday and Sheriff’s Deputy George Hessling responded to a call
from Ian Teresi, the Chiala farm manager. Full article
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The smell of onions wafted through the farm workers’ patio eating area at George Chiala Farms on Hill Road. It was 9 a.m. on a Wednesday and Sheriff’s Deputy George Hessling responded to a call from Ian Teresi, the Chiala farm manager.
The focus of the call for Hessling switched temporarily when Teresi got to talking about the proposal by Santa Clara County to eliminate the single rural crime deputy dedicated to farmers and ranchers south of Bailey Avenue. Hessling covers a beat of 600 square miles.
“Here’s my analogy. Every cop has a beat right? A downtown beat, let’s say. So why don’t we have a farm beat? Just like if a store was robbed in downtown Morgan Hill, an officer would respond right? They would patrol right?” Teresi said.
At Chiala, the sentiment was the same. “George knows us. We can call him and if he’s gone, we lose an invaluable asset,” said Abby Villareal, who works in Chiala human resources.
A ride-along with Hessling added 150 miles to his truck’s odometer, toured the expanse of farms and ranches in rural South County and portrayed a big job for one deputy.
“I’m dedicated to the farmers and ranchers, so they feel more secure. It’s a deterrent, too. If you see a sheriff’s truck roll by through the neighborhood … a casual drive-by can deter crimes from happening. That’s my goal right there: making sure everything’s in place,” Hessling said.
GIANT JOB FOR ONE MAN
The county sheriff’s office created the rural crime unit in 1992 when theft and trespassing was becoming an epidemic and damaging business. The first year of the part-time enforcement resulted in the recovery of 134,000 pounds of stolen garlic.
Now, a rural crime deputy is dedicated to South County and another to the Mount Hamilton range. Local farmers say crime has decreased since the incorporation of a rural crime unit, but it can’t go away, the deputy is necessary. District 1 Supervisor Mike Wasserman agrees. He appealed to the Public Safety and Justice Committee June 1, asking they move the item to the board inventory, or off the list of budget cuts.
“When an unincorporated resident calls 911, they are relying on a deputy sheriff to respond to that call. Currently in some areas of our county the response times can be up to 45 minutes, perhaps longer. That’s why I am asking to restore the deputies assigned to rural crimes,” he told the committee. The elimination of the rural crime unit would save the county about $300,000 annually and is part of $6 million in cuts proposed to the sheriff’s department.
“The deputies … enable farmers and ranchers in several ways to stay in business and confident and supported and I believe they deserve support of the agriculture,” Wasserman said days before he opposed the cuts at the committee hearing, which was moved for further discussion at a county budget workshop after 1:30 p.m. Wednesday.
In their April newsletter, the Santa Clara County Farm Bureau, a nonprofit organization, appealed to readers for support of the rural crime unit.
“It’s really a bang for your buck kind of thing,” said Jennifer Williams, the Farm Bureau’s executive director. “And it’s not just the farmers … but the rural residents benefit from his constant patrol. When I’m out talking to people, they say ‘yeah we saw him earlier this week.’ ”
Wasserman is unsettled by the proposal – calling public safety the county’s No. 1 concern.
“Can you imagine you were at one end (of the county) and got a call for service on the other end? The response is not very good as it is, so to eliminate that entirely that’s why I’m going to be asking my colleagues to support that additional funding to keep the rural crime unit as is. We need to pay for the minimal coverage we have now,” Wasserman said.
‘HOW ARE YOUR PARENTS DOING?’
Everywhere he went, Hessling could identify the owners of tractors, trucks, fruit stands and fields. He knew whose equipment belonged with which farm and even what crops were being planted or picked. Hessling has been on the rural crime beat for 18 months after moving from regular patrol duties with the sheriff’s department.
The dozen or more people he spoke with like Hessling. He often asks about their families. He knows everyone by their first names. They all have Hessling’s cell number.
“One of the biggest issues is trespassing. I try to look for it, maybe vehicles, people working, riding horses through the fields. It’s unfortunate. A horse going through a field, going to the bathroom, can contaminate the crop. That costs farmers a lot of money,” he said. “That’s why I got these.” Hessling reaches right behind this head and pulls out binoculars. Thanks to his knowledge of who’s who in the area, he quickly can identify a worker from a trespasser. If he’s not sure, his pickup with four-wheel drive helps in that effort.
“He’s a great guy. He does a great job,” said Louie Bonino, the owner of LJB Farms, outside his truck in San Martin. “We need him. We lose crops and equipment and property and it’s cut down. It’s been a big help.”
Beyond patrolling the rural neighborhoods, Hessling, a Morgan Hill resident, must back-up his deputies, usually three others are on duty and a supervisor. Homebase is the substation in San Martin off Monterey Road. On this particular day he responded in person to motley list of calls: gang graffiti was tagged on the fence at a roofing business; a farmer needed more “no trespassing” signs; a Gilroy man wanted help with getting rid of a squirrel problem next door.
Just as he wrapped up the day’s driving, three people were stuffing grape vines into the trunk of their SUV at the side of a business along Monterey Road. The situation was resolved between the store owner and the San Jose residents, who jokingly asked Hessling if they could offer him a sample of their stuffed grape leaf recipe.
The list of crimes Hessling has dealt with is broad: from poaching cattle in the hills, to theft of copper, produce and tractors; to trespassing and ruining the farm land unprotected by fences. As he headed back north along Bolsa Road in Gilroy, Hessling said he values his job and enjoys it, “and look at the scenery, it’s beautiful.” His lieutenant has requested that he stay in South County for his knowledge and experience.
With his sheriff’s truck constantly on the roads, paved and unpaved, “you don’t recognize how well it’s been working until it’s gone,” he said.
At Spina’s fruit stand near the north border of the county, John Spina himself called Wasserman’s office to advocate for Hessling.
“He’s the only one we have to contact when we have a problem. And it gets taken care of. For what they pay it’s worth it,” he said.
