Sheriff’s office reports arrests in countywide proactive policing shift

A 12-hour sheriff’s shift in Eureka and Hoopa Valley ended with arrests tied to warrants, methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia, giving Humboldt County a concrete look at what the sheriff’s office calls proactive policing.

The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office said the May 26 operation spanned the county and produced arrests tied to outstanding warrants, narcotics offenses and other criminal activity. The agency serves more than 136,000 residents, operates four patrol stations and one correctional facility, and employs about 349 people. The county jail is at 826 4th Street in Eureka, and jail reports are uploaded each morning.

In Eureka, a patrol deputy spotted Michael Thomas Banyard walking near Tydd Street and V Street and learned he had an outstanding warrant. Deputies detained Banyard without incident and booked him into the Humboldt County Correctional Facility. Later, deputies patrolled behind Walgreens at 2525 Harris Street and contacted Allen Walter Yochum, who was found with drug paraphernalia and used hypodermic needles in plain view. The sheriff’s office said Yochum was on Post Release Community Supervision for prior drug-related convictions, had absconded from supervision and had five outstanding warrants. A 2011 Humboldt County archive item also says Yochum was found with 16.1 grams of heroin in his mattress while in custody, adding long-running context to the office’s description of him as a repeat drug-related offender.

The Hoopa Valley stops followed the same pattern. Deputies working near Pine Creek Road and River Road pulled over a vehicle after a traffic violation. The driver, Gary Keith Parson, admitted to possessing methamphetamine, and a search turned up more than 30 grams of suspected meth. He was arrested for possession of controlled substances. In a second stop in the 600 block of Tish Tang Road, deputies contacted several occupants, including Terra Yvette Hescock and Jasmine Beatrice Faye Smith. Smith was driving on a suspended license, and a K9 named Yahtzee alerted on the vehicle. Deputies then found drug paraphernalia and ammunition.

The sheriff’s office has described these patrols as targeted and data-driven, based on current crime data and emerging trends, with the goal of maintaining a visible presence in areas it considers crime-impacted. That approach has shown up repeatedly this spring, including March narcotics operations with the HCSO Problem Oriented Policing Team, the Humboldt County Drug Task Force and the Rio Dell Police Department, as well as April saturation patrols in Hoopa Valley.