OFF THE WIRE
For the past year, Hemet police Detective Chuck Johnson has been watching his back.
As the target of nine attacks on Hemet police last year, the seasoned gang detective and former Marine drill instructor was constantly on guard for his family and himself.
But throughout the investigation, the attacks didn't deter him. He made 120 arrests throughout the year, breaking cases with the Hemet-San Jacinto Valley Gang Task Force.
He was recently named the 2010 Riverside County gang detective of the year and is now nominated as one of the America's Most Wanted All-Stars. The award is being offered nationally by the television program for emergency first responders who have shown valor and heroism.
"I just kept working and trying to do what I've always had fun doing," Johnson said. "In the back of my mind I was concerned for my family, but I have a passion to go after the bad guy."
The man investigators suspect was behind the attacks, Nicholas Smit, was arrested by Johnson during a search warrant for growing marijuana in his home in July 2009. Johnson said he hasn't had any contact with Smit since the arrest
The attacks began about six months later when Johnson's window was shattered and he came out to find several boards of nails sticking up by his family's vehicles. He dismissed the obvious booby trap as a neighborhood prank until a string of attacks made it appear that he was being targeted.
A gas line at his office was rerouted and a boobytrap using a gun rigged to the gate there a month later fired a bullet when it was opened by another gang officer.
He finally realized he was the officer being targeted when a homemade gun attached to the bottom of his unmarked patrol car fell off in a gas station parking lot when he stopped to get coffee on his way to court.
"We thought it was domestic terrorism," Johnson said. "I was thinking this can't be happening -- not in America."
Six additional attacks followed, including several arsons and a World War II-era bazooka rocket aimed at the Hemet police station. Johnson moved his family out of Hemet and Johnson was living in motels for a short time, while he continued to work on the case.
By June, Smit was identified as a suspect and police linked each of the attacks within days of each appearance Johnson was set to testify in the case. He said throughout the investigation he suspected white supremacists or motorcycle gangs targeted in the past, but Smit's case was never considered.
"I was wondering who I upset," Johnson said. "It was hard to believe it was him. It seemed crazy. He was looking at an 18-month prison sentence, and now he's facing life. He did it to himself."
His fellow officers nominated Johnson, not just based on the attacks, but also for his dogged police work. During the past year, he led a surveillance team that took down a methamphetamine supplier to a Hemet skinhead gang. He also spotted a parolee who was identified as a drug supplier to the Mexican Mafia throughout Southern California.
"He has a reputation as a workhorse. He doesn't know the meaning of off-duty," acting Hemet Police Chief Dave Brown said. "I think Chuck's legacy is that it's never over, no matter how big the arrest or the investigation. He just kept coming back for the next case to solve."
Johnson plans to retire next summer.
The America's Most Wanted Award is open to voting from the public on the program's website, amw.com. The winner will receive $10,000 and appear on the show.
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