Officer Steve Brooks grew up in Claremont, California and attended Claremont High School. He attended University of California Santa Barbara, majoring in Law and Society with an emphasis on Criminal Justice. Officer Brooks graduated from Golden West College Police Academy and joined Tustin Police Department in 2007. He is currently assigned to North Area Command.

On the night of July 22nd, Officer Brooks saw a vehicle northbound on Red Hill Avenue without headlights on. He conducted a traffic stop and made contact with the driver and two passengers. Officer Brooks sensed they were nervous and called for backup. He then obtained identification from them and gained the driver’s consent to search the vehicle.
The occupants were asked if they were on probation, parole or had ever been arrested and all answered no. Officer Brooks conducted a warrant check and all three had previously been arrested, the rear passenger had warrants out for his arrest and was also on probation through Los Angeles County.

The vehicle search produced drug scales, computer hard drives and monitors, and several duffle bags containing identification cards, credit cards, passports, mail and jewelry, none of which belonged to any of the three suspects. Officer Brooks ran several of the identification cards through dispatch and discovered they had been reported stolen. All three suspects were arrested.

While the suspects were being transported, the female suspect was seen moving about in the rear seat. When she was being removed from the police unit a container of methamphetamine and a bag of narcotic prescription pills was found.
After several hours of sorting through the large amount of items taken into evidence and making victim contacts, it was determined all of the evidence had been taken during vehicle burglaries throughout the County of Orange. The driver and female suspect denied knowledge of the stolen items, however, the third suspect made statements that he was part of a theft ring in which his girlfriend, currently in custody on separate fraud charges, was the ring leader.

To date, over fifteen victims have been identified. The first two suspects were booked for possession of stolen goods and various drug charges. The third suspect was booked for possession of stolen goods.

This is an outstanding outcome to an investigation that was a result of a routine traffic stop by Officer Brooks. For his dedication, perseverance and continued service to the community of Tustin, Officer Brooks has been chosen as the recipient of the Chamber of Commerce Officer of the Month award for July. Congratulations Officer Brooks!