Cable Gets Its Man : An Antelope Valley Show Modeled on ‘America’s Most Wanted’ Boasts 15 Arrests

In the Antelope Valley, where the Old West survives just beyond the peach walls of cookie-cutter subdivisions, sheriff’s deputies have put a modern twist on the old practice of posting an outlaw’s picture on the post office wall.

Taking their cue from the “America’s Most Wanted” television program, investigators broadcast photographs of the Antelope Valley’s most wanted on a local cable station. The 30- to 60-second “AV’s Most Wanted” airs every 70 minutes on Channel 15.

In the year since the spots began, “AV’s Most Wanted” has nabbed 15 of the 24 men it has profiled--most recently a man suspected of hitting someone with a cue stick in a brawl at the Hat Creek Saloon in Palmdale.

That success rate--62.5%--makes the show comparable in its collars to “America’s Most Wanted,” which claims to catch about 65% of the criminals it profiles.

To be sure, most of those depicted in the Antelope Valley are of a decidedly different criminal bent than those on the national show. Most are wanted for burglary, robbery or fighting, not the grisly triple murders that titillate viewers on “America’s Most Wanted.”

Not to be outdone, however, Antelope Valley deputies are quick to point out that their show recently profiled a man they think had a hand in the death of someone found buried in the desert.

He is still at large.

When and if he is apprehended, the suspect’s face will be broadcast again--this time stamped in red with the word “CAPTURED.”

A spokeswoman for the national show said 30 to 40 television stations across the country produce local versions of the program, with varying levels of sophistication. Most, like the Antelope Valley show, simply display photos of the wanted men while an announcer briefly describes their alleged crimes.

Some, such as the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department station in Victorville, go so far as to re-create the crime with amateur actors. But those shows are scarce.

The Antelope Valley version runs on a channel that shows only advertisements and community service announcements. But it is heavily watched, said Jeff Weiss, an account executive with Jones Intercable, the cable company that produces the show.

Weiss said an ad that runs immediately after “AV’s Most Wanted” is for a bail bond company.

The show is one of very few of its kind in Southern California. KTTV-Channel 11 features a weekly “LA’s Most Wanted” segment during its evening newscast, but law enforcement officials and broadcast executives know of no other local programs in the Los Angeles area.

Most calls generated by the Antelope Valley program come from friends and neighbors of the suspects. “Usually people know the guy, but they don’t know he is wanted,” Deputy Marty Shearer said.

When the suspects are caught, they are generally resigned to their fate. “The couple of people who have commented said something like: ‘I knew I was on TV, so I figured you’d be looking for me,” Shearer said.

One burglary suspect turned himself in after seeing his picture on television.

“He couldn’t stand the guilt,” Shearer said.