Deputy Hector Cuevas Jr. is being remembered as a hero for the Inland Empire community. Christian Cázares reports for the NBC4 News at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, March 18, 2025.
A suspect who was arrested for a collision that killed a San Bernardino County Sheriff’s deputy Monday was sent to prison for causing another high-speed pursuit crash a year ago, the Rialto Police Department said Tuesday.
Ryan Turner, 22, was suspected of driving a stolen vehicle Monday morning when he was spotted by Deputy Hector Cuevas, Jr. After Turner refused to pull over, a pursuit began but ended in a violent crash near the intersection of Seneca and El Evado Roads.
Video showed a patrol SUV was split into two pieces with debris scattered in the area and some ending up in the front yard of a home.
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When Turner was taken into custody on Monday, he had been out of prison for several months for another high-speed crash involving a stolen vehicle, Rialto police said.
In January 2024, Turner tried to run away from police, driving a stolen car up to 90 mph on surface streets in Rialto. He caused an officer to collide with another vehicle at the intersection of Foothill Boulevard and Meridian Avenue, according to police.
Although Turner received 16 months in county prison, he was released from custody in October 2024, serving eight months of his sentence, the Rialto Police Department added.
“Our hearts are broken for the deputy’s family as they process this tragedy,” said Rialto Police Chief Mark Kling. “The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department should not be preparing to bury one of their own. Their loss is law enforcement’s loss.”
The Rialto police chief blamed the California penal code at section 4019, which reduces one’s jail sentence if he or she serves time in jail with “good behavior” and AB 109, a California law enacted to address prison overcrowding.
“Before AB 109 and PC 4019 were enacted, there is a good likelihood that Ryan Turner would still be in state prison today and this deputy would still be alive,” the chief said in a statement.
Deputy Hector Cuevas Jr., who was killed in the crash Monday, was described as a six-year veteran with the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, assigned to the Victorville station in 2022.
Survived by his wife and their two children along with his parents and siblings, Cuevas was a family man and trusted colleague, said Sheriff Shannon Dicus.
“(Cuevas) was a cop's cop who has the ability to go between dealing with the most hardcore gang member, to turning around and being able to talk to a child and make sure they felt safe and knew that they were protected,” the sheriff said during a news conference Monday evening.
“He was a grand and great protector and a great father, and we will be suffering his loss and supporting his family for quite some time,” Dicus added.
Details of the slain deputy’s funeral plans were not immediately available.
Turner was scheduled to appear in court for arraignment on Thursday.
