Santa Barbara, Calif. –  The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office would like to encourage members of the press to attend the H. Thomas Guerry Awards Ceremony on Thursday, May 8, 2025, at 4:30 p.m. in the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisor’s Hearing Room, 4th Floor, County Administration Building, 105 East Anapamu, where four members of the Santa Barara County Sheriff’s Office will be honored. The H. Thomas Guerry Award is named after a Santa Barbara Police Department Officer who was killed in the line of duty in 1970.  Every year in his memory, the Santa Barbara Citizen’s Council on Crime recognizes excellence in law enforcement in Santa Barbara County. This year, Deputy Christopher Nelson will receive the H. Thomas Guerry Award for Valor, and Detective Ruben Esparza, Detective Mathew Maxwell, and Sergeant Daniel Kohli will receive the award for Superior Performance. A press conference is scheduled for Thursday, May 8, 2025, at 4:00 p.m. at the Board of Supervisors Conference Room, 4th floor of the County Administration Building, followed by an opportunity for photos and interviews with the recipients from 4:00- 4:25 p.m.

On Friday, May 27, 2022, detectives from the Criminal Investigations Bureau (CIB), along with Forensics personnel, were called out to a residence in Montecito on the report of a suspicious death. It was later determined that 96-year-old Violet Evelyn Alberts had been murdered in her own bed. Detective Daniel Kohli was assigned as the lead detective on this case, with Detective Ruben Esparza as his secondary.

With no suspects and no clear motive for the crime, detectives began the tedious task of canvassing all of Montecito for video surveillance. Not knowing what they were looking for, they collected as much video footage as possible. Eventually, detectives identified possible suspects due to their involvement with the victim in a fraudulent reverse mortgage scheme that was being investigated by the District Attorney’s Office.

When Detective Kohli was promoted to Sheriff’s Sergeant mid-way through the investigation, Detective Matthew Maxwell took over as the lead investigator. The investigation spanned two years, involving over 100 search warrants, 150 interviews, and 2,000 surveillance hours, ultimately culminating in five arrests.

Despite the exhaustive nature of the case, Detectives Kohli, Maxwell and Esparza simultaneously led separate investigations into multiple officer-involved shootings, stabbings, jail incidents, and other homicides while continuing to push this case forward. For their relentless drive, strategic thinking, and unwavering dedication to pursuing justice for Violet Evelyn Alberts, Sheriff’s Detectives Daniel Kohli, Matthew Maxwell and Ruben Esparza will be honored with the 2025 H. Thomas Guerry Award for Superior Performance.

On the morning of September 25, 2024, the Superior Courthouse in Santa Maria was attacked by a domestic terrorist who detonated an explosive device within the main lobby, injuring several innocent people and striking at the very core of our judicial system. Working his assigned post inside the lobby that day was Extra Help Sheriff’s Deputy Chris Nelson. Deputy Nelson, a 39-year veteran of the Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Office and 2005 Medal of Valor recipient, was sitting only feet away when the device exploded, sending a shower of burning material throughout the lobby and filling the room with a thick cloud of acrid smoke.

Just as the explosion occurred, Deputy Nelson instinctively began drawing his firearm to engage the suspect, then quickly took cover behind a desk to protect himself from the blast. Within seconds, Deputy Nelson began running through the chaotic, smoke-filled lobby in pursuit of the bomber. A short distance away, Deputy Nelson encountered the suspect being restrained by a private security guard as he was attempting to enter his vehicle, which had been parked right next to the entrance of the courthouse.

Unknown to Deputy Nelson at the time, the suspect was within arm’s reach of a loaded rifle and shotgun as he and two fellow law enforcement officers took him into custody, putting an end to his destruction.

For his extraordinary bravery in the face of immediate peril, and for his commitment to protecting the people of Santa Barbara County, Sheriff’s Deputy Chris Nelson will be presented the H. Thomas Guerry Award for Valor.

The Sheriff’s Office wants to thank the Santa Barbara Citizens Council on Crime for putting on the H. Thomas Guerry Awards for the past 55 years and for providing an opportunity to recognize law enforcement personnel who have gone above and beyond to protect and serve their community.