Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department - Cerritos Station

If a family member, a loved one or you have been arrested by or are being investigated by the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department (LAPD), Cerritos Station, it can cause a lot of anxiety. 

Facing such a situation, it can be helpful to know the bail amount (if any) associated with the offense if police deny an own recognizance (OR) release.  It is also valuable to know what evidence is needed to convict one for the crime that allegedly took place, the defenses possible and the sentence a judge can impose if one is convicted of the crime. 

We at Greg Hill & Associates believe it is good to know a few more things before interacting with any branch of law enforcement.  It can be valuable to know the size of the police or sheriff’s department, the area’s demographics, the most common types of crimes the department investigates and just a bit about the area’s history to make one’s communication with law enforcement more meaningful, more savvy and perhaps, more respectful.  This can lead to a better outcome than if one lacks such perspective.

This article is presented with this goal in mind.

The Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department, Cerritos station, is located at the Lynwood Jail building.  It has sixty-three sworn police officers and thirty civilian support personnel assigned to it. 

The Cerritos Station is responsible for the City of Cerritos and no other surrounding areas.

For traffic matters that arise on the freeways in this area, the California Highway Patrol (CHP) generally handles such matters, not the Cerritos Station.

Most cases arising out of the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Cerritos Station’s areas of responsibility are brought at the Bellflower or Norwalk Courthouses, but some are also brought at the Clara Shortridge Foltz criminal courts building (CCB) at 210 West Temple Street in downtown Los Angeles.  Cases that may be filed at CCB instead of at the Bellflower or Norwalk Courthouse would be very serious cases needing specialized prosecutors trained in handling such cases.

Our office has handled many shoplifting, DUI and domestic violence cases arising out the City of Cerritos and brought in the Bellflower Courthouse. 

Cerritos is Spanish for “little hills.”  As of 2019, the population was 49,859. 

According to Wikipedia, Cerritos is a prime example of the "fiscalization" of California politics after the tax revolt of the 1970’s and the passage of Proposition to limit property taxes based on property valuation.  After Proposition 13 was passed, the only way for California cities to raise long-term tax revenue in light of Proposition 13 was to create as many commercial zones as possible to take advantage of the percentage of county sales tax allocated back to municipalities as sales tax revenue.  Cerritos was one of the first cities in Los Angeles County to successfully develop large-scale retail zones, such as the Los Cerritos Center and the Cerritos Auto Square.  City leaders reinvested funds into the community with large public works projects and an increasing number of community services and programs.

The current progressive nature of the Cerritos government and the unusually strong tax base is best reflected in its facilities.  In 1978, Cerritos dedicated the nation's first solar-heated City Hall complex.  In 1993, the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts opened its doors.  In 1994, the City unveiled the Cerritos Towne Center project, combining office, retail, lodging, fine arts and dining in an open-air location.  In 1997, the city opened the Cerritos Sheriff's Station/Community Safety Center to provide public safety services.

Since the 1980s, Cerritos has attracted a large number of Filipino, Korean, Taiwanese, Indian and Chinese immigrant families.

What Cerritos may be best known for, however, is a tragedy.  On August 31, 1986, Aeromexico Flight 498, on approach to LAX from Mexico City was hit by a small Piper aircraft that had strayed into a Terminal Control Area (TCA) without clearance from Air Traffic Control.  The Piper crashed into Cerritos Elementary School's unoccupied playground, but the Aeromexico DC-9 fell inverted (upside-down) and plowed into dense residential zones, immediately flattening four houses.  The resulting fire destroyed eight more houses before firefighters could bring it under control.  A total of eighty-two people died, including fifteen people on the ground.  A sculpture in the Cerritos Sculpture Garden memorializes the incident.

For more information about being arrested and possibly facing a criminal case, please click on the following articles: