Watsonville cop arrested on suspicion of battery and damage charges in Stateline

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - A 24-year-old police officer from Watsonville, California was arrested in South Lake Tahoe early Thursday morning on a felony fugitive warrant out of Douglas County.

Tyler Leroy Stephens, a new officer for the Watsonville department, is currently in the El Dorado County Jail awaiting extradition to Douglas County on counts that include battery and destruction of property.

According to the Douglas County Sheriff's Office (DCSO), deputies were dispatched to Harveys Tahoe just after midnight on August 20 when their 911 dispatch center said Stephens said he needed to turn himself in for an officer-involved shooting in Santa Cruz. According to the DCSO report on the incident, Stephens also told dispatch he was being framed and investigated by the 187 unit, the number associated with homicide.

At the same time, the South Lake Tahoe Police Department (SLTPD) dispatch center was also contacted. Stephens had walked over to the Chateau at Heavenly parking lot, on the California side of the state line, and pings from his cell phone led law enforcement to both locations.

Upon arrival at the Stateline casino, DCSO was contacted by casino security and informed one of their slot department staff members had just been battered by a male and two slot machines were damaged, estimated to be about $30,000. Film deputies obtained also showed the suspect running from the Hard Rock Casino to Harveys. In the Hard Rock parking garage three cars had their windows bashed in and Stephens' wallet was found next to one of them. The owner of one of the damaged cars was asleep inside, but not injured.

As DCSO was investigating they received notification that SLTPD had Stephens at the Chateau where he was arrested. South Lake Tahoe Police have been in contact with the Watsonville Police Department.