MOUNTAIN HOUSE, Calif. — The San Joaquin County Sheriff's Office is cutting back on the number of deputies based out of the town of Mountain House, dropping from eight uniformed deputies down to just two.
"Crime happens everywhere, even here," Kenneth Larson, a Mountain House homeowner said.
Larson lives in what some might call the American dream of a neighborhood, covered with white picket fences, green grass, and large, beautiful homes. But on Wednesday, the serenity of his community was disrupted.
"It ended up being a total of seven cars along the block here with just the windows popped out, and it looked like people just rummaging for something quick as far as the stuff inside the car," he said.
READ ALSO: Garden Valley firefighters face 50 percent staff cut hours after two skirt death in Country Fire
This unincorporated part of San Joaquin County had a total of eight full-time deputies, including one sergeant, all from the San Joaquin County Sheriff's Office. But less than three weeks ago, because of a staffing shortage, the sheriff pulled six of those officers to other parts of the county.
"We're not specifically going after Mountain House, and we don't like the situation that we're in, and we don't like the situation that we've put people in, however with the numbers dwindling, we're pushed to that level," said Andrea Lopez, a spokesperson for the San Joaquin County Sheriff's Office.
It's left Mountain House, a growing town of 22,000 people, with just two uniformed deputies.
"To me, it's an open invitation [for crime]. We're over 20,000 population and we have two sheriff's to monitor everything here. That just doesn't seem like it's enough," Larson said.
"That's unacceptable to us," said President of the Mountain House Board of Directors Daniela Harrison.
Harrison called an emergency meeting where the board decided to hire two officers from a private security company to help fill in the gaps.
"We're not satisfied with it but we had to do something. We had to do something fast. It's critical to our community and our residents, they deserve that," Harrison said.
READ ALSO: Sacramento Police promote 23 of their own
The sheriff's office said it was easier logistically to pull deputies from Mountain House, compared to other communities in the county.
"Here at the sheriff's office, times are tough, but we have great deputies, we have great men and women that work for this office and we are doing everything we can to keep the community safe. We're constantly adjusting the location, the hours that they work, anything we can do to make the community safer," Lopez said.
Harrison said they will be looking to extend the contract with their private security company long-term at their next public meeting.
Continue the conversation with Lena on Facebook.