San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department - Twentynine Palms & Morongo Basin Station

If a friend, a loved one, a family member or you have been arrested by or are being investigated by the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department from the city-operated Twentynine Palms (also simply known as “29 Palms”) Station, it can cause insomnia worrying about what will happen or can happen.  Moreover, one is dependent upon the honesty, accuracy and competence of a sheriff’s deputy, who may or may not be experienced or have the same sense of urgency as you in having the police report properly written.  

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

 
We at Greg Hill & Associates believe it is prudent to know a few more things before interacting with any branch of law enforcement.  It can be smart to know the size of the police or sheriff’s department, the area’s demographics, a bit of history about the town, city or area, and the most common types of crimes the department investigates 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 and makes assumptions that may be wrong.

This article is presented with these goals in mind.

The City of Twentynine Palms operates the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department station in Twentynine Palms.  The city-operated Twentynine Palms Station is located at 63665 Palms Highway in Twentynine Palms.

It is a small station with just 14 sworn deputies and, we estimate, five civilian support personnel assigned to it.  The deputy sheriffs provide law enforcement services for the City of Twentynine Palms and Yucca Valley, as well as the unincorporated communities of Morongo Valley, Landers, Johnson Valley, Joshua Tree, Wonder Valley, Pioneertown, Amboy, Cadiz and Flamingo Heights.

It should be noted that U.S. Marine Corps military police patrol and enforce the laws on the Marine Corps based at Twentynine Palms, affectionately known by Marines as “29 Stumps.” 

This base, whose proper name is Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center and Marine Air Ground Task Force Command Center, Twentynine Palms, is massive.  Its 1,102 square miles makes it larger than Rhode Island in land size than the state of Rhode Island (1,034 square miles).  Rhode Island actually includes water areas, too, making its total square mileage close to 1,500 square miles.

As of the year 2000, there were 8,413 people living on base.  That number is probably higher now, 24 years later.  

Live fire exercises, artillery, tank, and close air support (CAS) training are used for training, in addition to the sprawling "Combat Town," a 274-acre fabricated Middle Eastern village, complete with a mosque, native role-players, an "IED”Alley," and other immersive touches.

The City of Twentynine Palms is 58.76 square miles and has a population of 28,065 as of the 2020 census.  However, two million tourists visit the Morongo Basin each year, with most people visiting the Joshua Tree National Park.

For arrests along State Route 62 crossing Twentynine Palms, the California Highway Patrol (CHP) will normally handle this work, although one may be thereafter transported to the Twentynine Palms Sheriff’s Department for processing, a breath test (if a DUI) and booking.  The person may also be held at the Twentynine Palms jail until bail is posted or the person is transferred to the Central Detention Center in San Bernardino.

As of 2010, Twentynine Palms’s population was 60.8% non-Hispanic white, 3.9% Asian, 8.2% African American and 20.8% Hispanic.
Cases arising out of Twentynine Palms are brought at the San Bernardino Hall of Justice at 4100 Main Street in downtown San Bernardino.  

Over the last 25 years, our office has not handled even one case arising out of Twentynine Palms.  However, we would expect such cases to include, but not be limited to DUI, violation of a protective order, domestic violence, defrauding an innkeeper, trespassing, shoplifting and possession of and / or sales of a controlled substance.  

Nonetheless, we have received phone calls from people in Twentynine Palms asking about hiring a criminal defense attorney.  We find that locals to the Twentynine Palms often distrust local criminal defense attorneys as being social friends with prosecutors and judges, so they are unwilling to fight too hard to preserve their friendships, so we are considered as counsel instead because we are not located in Twentynine Palms and presumably have no such ties or loyalties.

Areas Served:  City of Twentynine Palms and Yucca Valley.  Unincorporated communities of Morongo Valley, Landers, Johnson Valley, Joshua Tree, Wonder Valley, Pioneertown, Amboy, Cadiz and Flamingo Heights.

Below is the Google Map to the Twentynine Palms and Morongo Basin Station.