Darnell Calhoun: Riverside County deputy dies after shooting in Lake Elsinore
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RIVERSIDE COUNTY, Calif. – A deputy in Riverside County is dead after being shot Friday.
The Riverside County Sheriff’s Office responded to a call in the 18500 block of Hilldale Lane in Lake Elsinore. The deputy, later identified as 30-year-old Darnell Calhoun, was rushed to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.
According to Sheriff Chad Bianco, deputies responded to a child custody call around 4:20 p.m. Some short of altercation occurred, leading to Calhoun being shot. A second deputy arrived on scene and found Calhoun wounded on the street, Bianco stated. A shootout between that deputy and the suspect ensued. The suspect was struck and taken to the hospital in critical condition where they were also placed into custody. They have since been identified as 42-year-old Jesse Navarro.
Bianco said Calhoun joined the department in February 2022 after serving with the San Diego Police Department for two years. Calhoun was a husband, a son and was going to be a father.
“There is not one person with one negative to say about him,” Bianco said of Calhoun. “He was the most good, wholesome man you could ever imagine.”
“I hugged his mother and promised I would take care of him,” the sheriff emotionally said.
After the news of Calhoun’s death, law-enforcement departments across Southern California offered their condolences:
Los Angeles Police Department
Orange County Sheriff’s Office
San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Office
San Diego Police Department (Calhoun’s former department)
Ventura County Sheriff’s Office
California Attorney General Bonta issued the following statement, “Deputy Darnell Calhoun represented the best of the California spirit — protecting and serving the public with valor. On behalf of the nearly 6,000 men and women of the California Department of Justice, I extend our deepest condolences to Deputy Calhoun’s family, colleagues, and the entire Riverside community. His service and sacrifice will not be forgotten.”
Late Friday night, a procession was held to honor the deputy killed in the line of duty.
This violent incident comes just weeks after another Riverside County deputy was shot and killed by a suspect in Jurupa Valley. On the afternoon of Dec. 29, Deputy Isaiah Cordero was killed while attempting to conduct a traffic stop. The suspect who fired the shot, 44-year-old William Shae McKay, was later killed following a pursuit.
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Darnell Calhoun: Slain Riverside County deputy laid to rest
Riverside County Sheriff’s deputy Darnell Calhoun was shot and killed responding to a domestic violence call in Lake Elsinore on Jan. 13.
RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif. – The Riverside County community laid deputy Darnell Calhoun, who was killed in the line duty just over a week ago, to rest at a funeral service Saturday.
The 30-year-old Riverside County Sheriff’s deputy was killed on Jan. 13, responding to a domestic violence call in Lakeland Village near Lake Elsinore. On that day, Riverside County officials said 42-year-old Jesse Navarro shot Calhoun. Navarro was then shot by a second deputy who arrived on the scene. Navarro was taken to the hospital in critical condition and taken into custody.
“Our law enforcement family did not have time to process or come to grips with the loss of Isaiah [Cordero], when we were forced to deal with the unthinkable,” Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco said at the service Saturday.
Bianco told FOX 11 that Calhoun joined the department in February 2022 after serving with the San Diego Police Department for two years. Saturday, Bianco reflected on asking Calhoun why he wanted to join the Riverside County Department and leave the San Diego Police.
“He responded that his commute was too long and he wanted to spend that time with his family,” Bianco said. “With that answer, I knew we had hired a good one.”
Calhoun was a father of two, with a third child on the way. His pregnant wife did not speak at Saturday’s ceremony, but did issue a statement on Facebook the night before, saying that Calhoun always made sure his children, “knew how much you loved them. I know that the love you have shown them will sustain them through this life.”