Five peace officers serving on the frontline of law enforcement were honored Thursday by the Manteca Rotary Club.

They were chosen by their peers and superiors not because they had dramatic car chases, were in shootouts or saved someone’s life.

There were such instances they were involved in. But what got them picked as the officer of the year for the respective agencies at the annual Manteca Rotary Law Day event conducted at the Manteca Transit Center was the high level of dedication, perseverance, and service to the public they each do on a day-to-day basis.

Recipients of the Don L. Asher Memorial Officer of the Year Award named after longtime Manteca Rotarian and judge were Deputy Sheriff Scott Drivon, San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office; officer Adam Ragsdale, Manteca Police; officer Jeffrey Steele, California Highway Patrol; probation officer Antonio Castellanoz; and investigator Josh Gillespie, San Joaquin County District Attorney’s Office.

Gillespie’s selection highlighted the tedious and complex work law enforcement officers do day in and day out that is required to make sure order is kept and justice served.

When Gillespie was hired by the DA’s office as an investigator in 2017 he was assigned to the IMPACT/Welfare Fraud Unit. He was able to amass evidence for nearly 40 convictions of defendants who chose to defraud public assistance programs designed to help struggling families and needy children.

Included were complex frauds where the loss to the county and state was in excess of $50,000 in each instance.

Three years later, he was moved to the Identity Theft Unit. His work involved sophisticated and complex frauds. He uncovered more criminal culpability for defendants as he meticulously traced leads and contacted victims.
Gillespie, since March 2020, has had his hands full investigating COVID-19 relief fraud in San Joaquin County.

Five examples of fraud cases where he has helped secure convictions with his footwork on cases that are currently pending includes more than $1.25 million in COVID-19 relief fraud of funds distributed through the California EDD department using identity theft are as follows:

*A Manteca man on probation was stopped and searched by officers. Investigators found evidence of ID theft. His home was searched as well leading to more EDD fraud and identity theft of hundreds of individuals being found. He is still in custody and is facing  potentially 13 years in prison.

*A dental assistant in Manteca compromised patient files to commit ID theft. That person supplied pilfered personal information to the previously referenced individual. A search of the second person’s home revealed more evidence of EDD fraud and more identity theft. The case is still pending prosecution.

*Another case involves an individual’s purchasing new cars at various Northern California dealerships with identity theft victims’ personal information and credit worthiness. After his arrest on ID theft charges, search warrants revealed participation in a larger EDD theft ring with over $1 million involved. The case is still pending in court.

*The fourth case involves an individual stopped by officers who was found to be in possession of 12 fraudulent EDD cards in the names of ID theft victims. Two search warrants were served in Manteca and one in Stockton.

The searches revealed a complex EDD fraud  scheme involving fraud from out of state as well as those incarcerated in state prison. A search at one Manteca home led to the seizure of 18 firearms including one that had been stolen and others that were illegally modified. So far the investigation has shown the defendants netted $250,000 in EDD funds by illegal means. The case is pending. Defendants are facing upwards of 10 years in prison.

*In a case with a habitual ID thief who was found to be in possession of personal information of hundreds of people, Gillespie painstakingly made contact with as many victims as possible. That lead to an 8-year prison sentence.

Manteca Police officer

credited with saving a life

Ragsdale was credited with saving a man’s life when responding to a call regarding a subject that was breaking windows along Union Road on July 21, 2021.

The man was found lying on the ground bleeding.

Ragsdale, with the help of other officers, applied torniquets. Medical personnel later said the man had severed an artery and would have bled to death if Ragsdale had not responded as he did.

Ragsdale in 2021 while working graveyard made 80 arrests of individuals driving under the influence of alcohol or a controlled substance. That was more arrests than any other Manteca Police officer.

He also has assisted the department’s dedicated detective in the successful investigation of organized retail crime thefts.

Drivon was credited with always putting in extra effort on the job.

An example was on Oct. 21, 2021 when deputies assigned to the Lathrop Police were tied up on calls and were unable to respond to numerous calls of an elderly Asian male walking into traffic and flagging down cars near Lathrop High.

Drivon, who was not assigned to Lathrop but was on patrol nearby, responded.

The man who was in distress and was apparently seeking help was unable to communicate due to a language barrier.

Drivon used a telephone translation service to determine the gentleman was Vietnamese. He was unable to get his name but summoned medics after determining  he needed medical assistance.

The man was taken to San Joaquin General Hospital.

He then exhausted all potential leads to identify the man.

He eventually thought-out-of-the-box, took a photograph of the man, sent it to the department’s public information officer, and had the man’s image posted on social media.

Within four hours his family contacted the hospital and were reunited with the man.

An example of the dedication and tenacity of Castellanoz was reflected when he was assigned a caseload of 40 people who are among the most difficult to track down — homeless on probation for various crimes.

He used repeated visits in various encampments to gain the trust of other homeless over time that allowed him to find those on probation. He has diligently worked with the homeless on probation and has made every effort to make sure they don’t become repeat offenders.

One example was a homeless individual barely out of his teen years on probation that Castellanoz worked extensively with. He is now in a work training program and trying to get off the street.

Steele is a journeyman CHP officer who is called upon to assume leadership roles in the field as the oldest officer on patrol assigned to the Stockton office.

Several incidents were cited where he was able to take what was a simple traffic stop and find out that he was dealing with those wanted for other crimes. Included was a driver he pulled over who ran a stop sign. Just hours earlier the driver had been involved in a carjacking where the owner was beaten.

Last year Steele investigated 169 traffic collisions, arrested seven drunk drivers, arrested 12 felons for various crimes, arrested five auto thieves, recovered 18 stolen vehicles, issued 550 traffic citations, had 935 enforcement contacts, and helped 368 motorists continue their journeys or get the services they needed.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com

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