Making Room on Victim’s Own Wall

He was a big man, unusually outgoing although by some accounts shy at heart. He loved to travel. He loved his work.

He also loved to use his hands. His colleagues in the Orange County Sheriff’s Department well remember that Deputy Brad Riches, shot to death while on patrol in Lake Forest early Saturday, once built a wall of honor for those slain in the line of duty. He carved the giant wood frame, installed the track lighting and framed the portraits of five sheriff’s officers killed over the department’s long history. Now a place will be made for him.

“They Are Not Dead Who Live in the Lives They Leave Behind,” he wrote, meticulously placing the gold letters one by one.

Hours after Saturday’s shooting, friends and colleagues who knew and loved the tall, friendly young officer stood a few yards from the gallery of the dead, grieving.

Orange County Sheriff Mike Carona said Riches, 34, was known “by everybody for his extra effort. He was always the type of person to raise his hand. The great irony is that board you see out there for the fallen officers--he built that with his own hands.”

A close friend, 34-year-old Jim Henrey, remembered that Riches had two great loves: “He loved people, he loved interacting with them, and he loved to work with wood.”

His older brother described Riches as an open, sensitive man who grew up with little self-confidence. “When he joined the Sheriff’s Department he came into himself and blossomed,” said Robert Riches, 35.

“I try to be a lot like him,” his brother said. “He’s been a role model to me. He’s very innocent at heart and likes the simple things in life--[like] a child’s laugh. Even though he was in job with pressures . . . he didn’t let life fly past him. He was in awe of God’s creation.”

Born in Canada, Brad Riches traveled extensively as a young child because of his father’s work as an engineer for oil companies. Eventually the family settled in Orange County, and Riches graduated from Dana Hills High School in 1984. Henrey met Riches in high school, and they became friends.

Henrey remembered how Riches dreamed of helping people, and served as a part-time firefighter and emergency medical technician until 1988.

When Henrey married, Riches was late to the wedding because he was on an emergency call. When Riches married his sweetheart, Patty Prince, his brother was the best man, but Henrey was right next to him. The marriage ended in divorce after six years, but Riches and Prince stayed friends, said Henrey.

After the divorce, friends said, Riches moved into the guest house of a retired couple in Dana Point. He helped them rebuild a deck, built a bar and did numerous repairs and odd jobs for them.

With full-time jobs at the fire department in short supply, Riches set his sights on a police career, and became an American citizen to qualify, his brother Robert said.

“He always wanted to be in a profession where he could help people,” his brother said. “He knew about the dangers and was perfectly willing to accept them. He didn’t think twice about that.”

That career began when Riches became a special officer with the Orange County sheriff’s department in 1989, a position ranking below deputy. A year later, he was awarded a medal for courage after wrestling a gun away from a distraught welfare recipient at a county office.

The next year he was hired as a full-fledged deputy. He was assigned to the James A. Musick Branch Jail and the Orange County Central Jail. Sgt. R. Jaeger, Riches’ supervisor for two years at the central jail, said that when there were inmates with special medical or diet needs, “he made sure they were taken care of. They were human too.”

Jaeger said, “He was a big, strong guy, with a big heart. He was very calm, very helpful. . . . Big love, just a big man . . . It’s like losing a family member.”

Ten months ago, Riches was finally assigned to patrol duty.

“He was looking forward to it, he was excited,” said Jaeger. “That’s why we all join, because we want to be out there helping.”

He was assigned to patrol Lake Forest, where his old friend Henrey lives with his wife and three children.

“He would come by on lunch break, turn on the [flashing] lights, all the kids would come running, they loved it,” said Henrey. “He was just a good man, confident in his job. He wasn’t ever cocky, but he was confident.”

Another close friend and colleague remembered how Riches went out of his way to meet people.

“I noticed it in the airport,” said Scott Vanover, 34, a fellow Orange County sheriff’s deputy and a friend who traveled with him. “I’d watch him and he’d just start to talk to these people. Anybody. Then he’d have friends.”

The two men met in just that way, Vanover recalled: “He saw my name on my desk and asked me if I was Dutch, and the next thing . . . he was like a brother to me,” Vanover said.

The outgoing manner was a way Riches compensated for a natural introversion, Vanover said. “He taught me that you can just go up and start talking to somebody, or if somebody just comes up to you, something positive can come out of it.”

Riches is survived by his father, Bruce, from central California; his mother Meriel, who lives abroad; and his brother Robert.

The wall Riches built is full, with five portraits carefully hung in a neat constellation: Undersheriff Robert Squires, killed in the performance of his duty on Dec. 16, 1912. Deputy Ezra Stanley, killed in performance of duty on Nov. 19, 1940. Deputy Robert L. Schultz, killed in performance of his duty on April 21, 1958. Deputy Mark S. Tonkin, killed in the performance of his duty on Oct. 24, 1988. Deputy Darryn L. Robins, killed in the performance of his duty on Christmas Day 1993.

“We’ll make room, don’t worry,” said Capt. Joe Davis. “We’ll make room.”

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Times staff writers Lisa Richardson and Matthew Ebnet contributed to this story.

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Dangerous Duty

Duty-related deaths of peace officers in Orange County

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Officer Agency Year Robert Squires Orange County Sheriff’s 1912 Jim Mathews CA State Traffic Squad, O.C. 1924 Lauren E. Hurd CA State Traffic Squad, O.C. 1927 Leo Roy Darst Huntington Beach Police 1928 Edwin R. Jensen Santa Ana Police 1931 Ezra Stanley Orange County Sheriff’s 1940 Gordon French Laguna Beach Police 1953 Camile Madere California Highway Patrol 1958 Robert Shultz Orange County Sheriff’s 1958 Myron Trapp Garden Grove Police 1959 Leonard Winney California Highway Patrol 1959 Robert Dale California Highway Patrol 1960 John Marshall Newport Beach Police 1962 Nelson Sasscer Santa Ana Police 1969 Andrew Reese Garden Grove Police 1970 Darrell Cate Buena Park Police 1972 Donald Schneider Los Angeles County Sheriff’s 1973 Carl Wilson Los Angeles County Sheriff’s 1973 Waldron Karp Tustin Police 1973 Leslie Prince Huntington Beach Police 1974 Jerry Hatch Fullerton Police 1975 Gary Nelson Anaheim Police 1975 Donald Sowma Cypress Police 1976 Daniel Hale Santa Ana Police 1977 Richard Steed San Clemente Police 1978 Donald Reed Garden Grove Police 1980 Michael Rainford Garden Grove Police 1980 James Ketchum Costa Mesa Police 1987 John Libolt Costa Mesa Police 1987 Edward Clavell Seal Beach Police 1988 Robert Roulston Anaheim Police 1988 Mark Tonkin Orange County Sheriff’s 1988* Tommy De La Rosa Fullerton Police 1990 Howard Dallies Jr. Garden Grove Police 1993 John Steel California Highway Patrol 1993 Darryn Robins Orange County Sheriff’s 1993** Michael Osornio La Habra Police 1994 Robert Henry Newport Beach Police 1995 Terry Fincher Brea Police 1996 Don Burt California Highway Patrol 1996 Joey Little Placentia Police 1996 Steven Van Horn Newport Beach Police 1997 Shayne York Los Angeles County Sheriff’s 1997 Brad Riches Orange County Sheriff’s 1999

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* Killed in helicopter crash ** Accidentally shot during training secession Source: Orange County Sheriff’s Department