A Grossmont College student, two sheriff’s deputies and a public safety dispatcher were honored Thursday morning by the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department for actions leading to the arrest of a man who accosted a lone female student as she was getting into her car in the Grossmont College parking structure last October.
Receiving letters of commendation from
Sheriff Bill Gore during an awards ceremony Thursday were sheriff’s deputies
Felix Santiesteban and Dean Allen, both assigned to duties at Grossmont and
Cuyamaca colleges. Receiving civilian commendations were student Javier Partida
and campus parking services dispatcher Tiffany Hungerford.
Partida is credited for honking his car horn
and scaring off the assailant, then convincing the student to accompany him to
the district Public Safety Office to report the crime. Hungerford was
recognized for her quick action issuing a campus-wide alert that triggered
actions leading to the suspect’s arrest just 17 minutes after the assault.
Santiestban was credited for being the first
to spot the suspect and taking him into custody with the assistance of deputies
Allen and Jose
Gonzalez Marquez, based out of the Santee sheriff’s substation. The victim
identified the man arrested as her assailant during a curbside lineup. The
defendant remains in custody awaiting trial.
“Had
it not been
for the keen observation of student
Javier Partida as
well as
his willingness to help
someone in need, coupled with his sense of justice to convince the victim to report the crime right
away, this very dangerous suspect may have gotten away,” Sheriff’s
Department Commander Don Fowler said in a narrative Thursday of the incident. “Additionally,
had it not been for dispatcher Tiffany Hungerford's quick thinking in
broadcasting the information to start a search, the timing might have been off
and the suspect may have been able to walk away undetected.”
Hungerford, whose grandmother and aunt were
present for the awards ceremony, said she was “really surprised” by the honor
Thursday, which took place at Bob Hope Theater on Marine Corps Air Station
Miramar. With a massive American flag as a backdrop and hundreds of sheriff’s
deputies in uniform in attendance watching fellow officers receive
commendations and promotions, Thursday’s ceremony was an impressive sight.
“I’m a little overwhelmed,” Hungerford said.
“I wasn’t expecting it to be quite so big a deal.”
