An officer’s smart sleuthing, a social media creator who put himself on blast and a victim’s razor-sharp identification helped Hemet police make an arrest in a burglary this month that had netted the thieves $55,000 worth of distinctive jewelry, gaming consoles, high-end shoes and cash.

“The investigation went like 30 different places,” Eric Shelton, the investigating officer, said in an interview on Thursday, April 10. “Every two seconds there was new information coming out.”

The burglary happened on April 2. PlayStation 5s were taken, as well as $6,000 cash. Most notable were a custom chain with the word “Papa” on it, a gold necklace with diamonds and what Shelton described as a Rolex necklace — all easily identifiable.

A community services officer took the burglary report because there were no known suspects at the time.

But then Shelton received a call that two men had gone to a neighbor’s house and demanded that the resident delete any surveillance images of them. Shelton said he didn’t believe the men explained their demand and doubted any images were deleted. But he said the neighbor couldn’t offer much of a description of the men, who apparently were not recorded.

However, the call prompted Shelton to visit the victim, and that’s when police got their first break.

“Talking to the victim, he said his card was used at a Popeye’s in San Bernardino,” Shelton said. “So I put two and two together that they are probably going to use a pawn shop. If I steal something, I need to get rid of it. It’s hot.”

So, Shelton said, he visited Highland Pawn in Highland, where the proprietor said he remembered people trying to pawn jewelry that matched the description that Shelton provided. The officer obtained surveillance images of the men and showed them to the victim.

Their faces — and the rest of their heads — were familiar.

“He knew them,” Shelton said, “because he’s a barber and he cuts their hair.”

A judge then approved Shelton’s request for a warrant to search their home, about 1,000 feet from where the victim lived.

“Basically a neighbor, you know?” Shelton said.

The search failed to turn up any of the jewelry or shoes, he said.

But fortune – and perhaps ego – smiled on the investigation.

A man came out of a nearby apartment and recorded the search on a live Instagram program, “just blaring out absurdities against law enforcement,” Shelton said. The man also admitted on the broadcast that he “hit a lick last night,” criminal lingo for pulling off a robbery or burglary, Shelton said.

Police weren’t the only ones who noticed the man: The burglary victim’s girlfriend saw the Instagram video, as well. She called 911 when she spotted the man wearing what she believed was the Rolex necklace taken in the burglary.

Why would a man call such attention to himself?

“In a weird way, it’s kind of like bragging rights. A lot of people do things for attention,” Shelton said.

Officers arrested the man, although police don’t yet know whether he was one of the burglars, Shelton said. The hunt for other suspects, and the stolen property, continues.

Many patrol officers in Hemet’s smallish police department investigate crimes start to finish as detectives would, Shelton said, adding that some have later become investigators with the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office.

Shelton said some criminals underestimate the force, which numbers just under 80 including those who wear stars, bars or stripes on their uniform. By comparison, the Riverside Police Department has close to 400 officers.

“You’re not always going to be able to recover everything,” said Shelton, 32, who joined the department in October. But Shelton said he believes that investigations that lead to search warrants being served often put criminals on notice that “you can attempt these crimes, but you’re not going to get away with this.”

For January 2024 through June 2024, the most recent period for which Hemet police statistics are available, property crimes were down about 24%, motor vehicle theft was almost cut in half, robberies were off by 19% and arrests increased by about 19% over the same period in 2023, according to the department’s mid-year report.

“Every single officer there goes above and beyond their job,” Shelton said. “That’s our bread and butter and what we pride ourselves on.”