Detective Charles D. ’Doug’ Jacobs III, 30, was killed on January 13, 2001, while on duty with the Riverside Police Department. He and another officer were interviewing a mother and her son on an outside staircase at a Lemon Street residence about a noise complaint when a second son, Steve Woodruff, came out of the house and opened fire with a 9 mm handgun. Jacobs was struck in the head by one of the two rounds fired and died after being taken to Riverside Community Hospital.

After the shooting Woodruff went back into the residence, tried to load a rifle that jammed, and shortly thereafter surrendered. He was arrested and later convicted on multiple charges, including the murder of Detective Jacobs; a jury recommended death and the penalty phase was retried in 2021, with Woodruff sentenced to death in October of that year. Jacobs had served five years with the department and left behind a wife, a six-month-old daughter, and a ten-year-old stepson.

The officers had been called because of repeated complaints about loud music and alleged drug activity at that home and others on the block. Does anyone have memories of Lemon Street or knew Detective Jacobs and can share information that might shed further light on the case?