Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer is proud to announce a ceremony that will honor nine Fresno citizens for their acts of heroism.

Hayward Jackson, Abel Tello, Sarah Gorman, David Cavazos, Henry Merez, Christy Keyes, Mauricio Flores, Ray Salas, Larry Gurule will be honored at the 19th Annual Citizen Awards Ceremony presented by the Fresno & Madera Counties Police Chiefs’ Association.

The ceremony will be held on Wednesday, September 17, 2008, at 10:00 A.M. at the Fresno City Council Chambers. Mr. Colin Dougherty will be the Master of Ceremonies. See below for information on each incident.

Hayward Jackson
On February 27, 2008, Hayward Jackson was attacked in a parking lot around 10:00 A.M. The suspect, a Bulldog Gang member, was able to obtain Mr. Jackson’s car keys and fled in his vehicle. Mr. Jackson returned inside the store to phone police, and then went back to the parking lot to wait for them. Once outside the store, Mr. Jackson spotted the suspect. Mr. Jackson ran towards the suspect and was able to hold and restrain the suspect until police arrived. His car was discovered at an apartment complex parking lot nearby. The suspect was arrested and booked in jail.

Abel Tello
On the morning of April 17, 2008, a woman reported to police that she had her purse stolen by three men while waiting for the bus. Patrol officers and detectives searched the area and were able to locate and apprehend two of the suspects, leaving one suspect still at-large. As police searched, a citizen in a nearby neighborhood, Abel Tello, had seen a man running across his lawn and a patrol car in the area. He suspected that the police were looking for the man he had just seen. Mr. Tello followed the suspect and was able to apprehend him in the back yard of a neighbor’s residence. He then walked the suspect out to police and handed him over. With the help of Mr. Tello, the police were able to identify and arrest all three of the suspects involved in this crime.

Sarah Gorman
On July 1, 2008, Sarah Gorman observed a car-jacking in progress. Mrs. Gorman saw a man trying to drag the driver, a 62 year-old woman, out of her car. At the same time, the suspect ordered the 89 year-old passenger to get into the back seat of the car, which thankfully she did not do. Mrs. Gorman immediately called 911 and gave the dispatcher the description of the car jacking suspect, the vehicle information, including the license plate number and the direction the suspect was traveling. She then turned her attention to aid the two victims. The suspect was located and arrested.

David Cavazos
On June 18, 2008, Motorcycle Officer Brian Phelps observed a male subject walking along McKinley, near Blackstone carrying and drinking from a large beer bottle. As Officer Phelps approached him, the subject became extremely hostile toward him. The suspect violently resisted being taken into custody and attacked the officer. Mr. David Cavazos, Jr. observed the suspect fighting with the officer and immediately pulled over to lend a hand. As Officer Phelps struggled to hold the suspect, Mr. Cavazos grabbed his right leg out from under him and they were able to get the suspect on the ground and into custody.

Henry Merez
On May 15, 2008, Henry Merez, a landscaper, was working on a customer’s lawn when he observed a car crash into an unoccupied car parked along the street. When Mr. Merez went over to see if the driver was okay, he saw the driver trying to restart his vehicle to leave the scene. Mr. Merez reached inside the vehicle and took the keys out of the ignition so that the intoxicated driver would not be able to leave. Unbeknownst to Mr. Merez, two other citizens had called the police prior to the accident to report a possible drunk driver. Mr. Merez was able to keep the driver at the scene until officers arrived to take the driver into custody. The driver was so intoxicated the officers were unable to give him a field sobriety test at the scene.

Christy Keyes
Ms. Christy Keyes parked her car in her driveway with her purse inside of it. She went inside her house for a few minutes and when she came out she saw a blonde-haired woman walking away from the front of her house. Ms. Keyes sensed something wasn’t right and took note that the woman got into a blue Ford. After a while, Ms. Keyes realized her purse was gone. She quickly called to cancel her credit cards only to find they had already been used at a gas station and a grocery store. Ms. Keyes immediately turned detective and went to the two businesses, and after explaining the situation, was allowed to view the surveillance tapes of the transactions where her cards were used. There was that same blonde woman. Ms. Keyes saw the blue Ford again in her neighborhood and followed it to an apartment complex not far from her house. The same blonde woman exited the car and Ms. Keyes watched which apartment she went into. She went to the Apartment Manager’s office and was able to find out the name of the mystery woman. Ms. Keyes quickly relayed that information to the Fresno Police Department Fraud Unit The identification of this suspect as a serial burglar and identity thief was made possible because of Christie Keyes. The suspect was arrested.

Mauricio Flores and Ray Salas
On June 10, 2008, around 3:00 P.M., Mauricio Flores and Ray Salas were leaving a business meeting at Shaw and Mariposa Avenues when they heard someone yelling. Looking down the north side frontage road, they observed that it was an elderly female. Mr. Flores and Mr. Salas then saw a male subject running away from the elderly female carrying a purse. Both Flores and Salas gave chase to the male suspect, who threw down the purse and continued running across Shaw Avenue. As they continued to chase the suspect, they heard and saw a police helicopter overhead giving the suspect verbal commands over the P.A. system to stop. Mr. Flores and Mr. Salas were able to detain the suspect until police arrived and took him into custody. The two gentlemen remained at the scene to give their statements and positively identify the suspect.

Larry Gurule
In November 2007, Larry Gurule and his wife returned home from shopping and found a Chevy Blazer sinking in the deep end of their pool. There was an unconscious woman inside of it. Without hesitation Mr. Gurule jumped into the pool and with great difficulty against the pressure, worked to open the door to try to get the woman out. He was trying to yell to the woman who was in and out of consciousness to unbuckle her seat belt. As the truck continued to sink, the water level in the vehicle was creeping up the woman’s neck to her chin. Mr. Gurule could not unbuckle the seat belt so he climbed out of the pool, ran in the house to retrieve a knife and jumped back into the pool. Mr. Gurule was able to rescue the woman.