San Juan Hankers for Mounted Posse

San Juan Capistrano may soon ride back in time to a remnant of the Old West: the sheriff’s posse.

The City Council is considering funding a mounted volunteer patrol to keep an eye on the city’s brushy outback.

But unlike posses of old, this group would be armed only with cellular phones.

“I don’t want them getting involved in any situation where they could get hurt,” said Lt. Rick Stahr, chief of police services at the city’s sheriff’s substation. “I don’t want volunteers to be confrontational or get involved. I want them to call us so deputies can handle it. They’re going to be eyes and ears for the Sheriff’s Department.”

Stahr hopes to fund the volunteer mounted posse within 30 to 60 days.

The program would initially cost $48,000. That would pay for the part-time services of a coordinator, T-shirts with an identifying emblem, training and the cellular phones. About $25,000 of those costs would continue each year.

The volunteers would be required to have riding experience, as well as their own horses and tack. They would patrol in pairs.

The posse is included in the city’s early budget proposal, scheduled to be discussed at the June 20 City Council meeting.

The posse proposal has been in the works for about a year as a way of dealing with off-road vehicles on private and city-owned hill property.

“This program is something that fits right in with the atmosphere of San Juan,” Stahr said.

Horses would allow the volunteers access to the hills and trails that are virtually uncovered by the department, Stahr said.

The department has no four-wheel-drive vehicles, but can call in a helicopter to give trespassers warnings, Stahr said. Checking to see if they actually leave is where the posse comes in.

“Motorcycles could cause sparks that could cause a fire,” Stahr said. “People who make their own trails cause a lot of damage to the foliage and natural growth; then when we get rain, the ground doesn’t hold and we get slides.”

The volunteer posse would patrol only on weekends--when most off-roaders ride--and only during the day, Stahr said.

Stahr said he hopes to limit the group to 15 riders, supervised by two deputies.