Deputy Sheriff Arthur E. Pelino, 50, was killed on March 19, 1978, while serving at the Gorman Station in Los Angeles County. Pelino had arrested a mentally disturbed individual earlier that day and told colleagues at the Santa Clarita Valley Station he had the situation under control, cancelling their backup response. During booking at Pelino’s office the suspect seized the deputy’s service revolver and shot him. Two of Pelino’s children discovered their father on the floor with the suspect sitting nearby; they alerted their mother, who secured the suspect in a cell and called for help. Pelino died before assistance arrived. The suspect was arrested and charged; court proceedings described him as mentally deranged and resulted in a 2½ year prison sentence.

Pelino had served 21 years with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and was the resident deputy in the rural Gorman community. He left a wife, three sons, and three daughters; colleagues remembered him as a mentor and community figure. Does anyone have memories of Pelino’s service in Gorman or information about the case?