COARSEGOLD – We have been getting a lot of questions about the heavy law enforcement presence in Coarsegold yesterday morning.
MAGEC (Multi-Agency Gang Enforcement Consortium), Madera Police, and the Madera County Regional SWAT Team were serving search warrants at two locations in the area.
The presence of law enforcement can certainly indicate a crime in progress, but that was not the case here. So we had a look back at what Madera County Sheriff Commander Tyson Pogue told us about 18 months ago, when questions came in from the public about the same type of situation.
“We serve search warrants all the time and most are routine, but with every one, we go through a threat assessment,” says Pogue who notes that most warrants are served by patrol deputies.
“We evaluate such factors as the nature of the crime, the criminal history and background of the suspect including weapons possession or assaults, and other factors such as fortifications of the residence and dogs on the property.”
Pogue says that sometimes, based on those factors, the determination is made to utilize additional assets if the risk to a regular patrol deputy is assessed to be too high.
Yesterday’s operation is part of an ongoing investigation, and no further details are available.
