[KHTS] – Deputy Joe Trejo, known affectionately as “the Mayor of Newhall” and “Uncle Joe,” retired this week as community relations deputy for the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station.

Trejo came to the Santa Clarita Valley shortly before the Northridge earthquake to address Sheriff’s Department concerns about a lack of Spanish-speaking deputies in the area.

Deputy Joe Trejo | Photo: Leon Worden

“They reached out to Spanish-speaking deputies in the department,” Trejo said, “and I responded with the typical ‘Santa Where?’”

But Trejo soon embedded himself in the community.

He enjoys talking about his days walking a beat and connecting with Newhall residents, including his time as the leader of a Sheriff’s Department substation in Newhall.

He’d always wanted to work in law enforcement, he said, inspired by family members and the TV show “Adam 12” that glamorized the badge and police work for a young Trejo.

He had a friend in both the LAPD and the Sheriff’s Department when it came time to make his career choice, and his deputy friend convinced him to join up, he said.

Trejo joined the department in 1983, and before coming to the Santa Clarita Valley, he worked at Men’s Central Jail, Biscailuz Center, Pico Rivera, Hollywood Station, Transit Services Bureau and West Hollywood.

But his longest stay was definitely in the Santa Clarita Valley, which, for a while now, he has considered home.

His affable nature and ability to work with others not only helped him organize the hugely popular annual Haunted Jailhouse, but also to help police Santa Clarita.

Trejo recalled a Newhall man who saw a woman dump her baby in the trash. The witness sought out Trejo because he had seen him numerous times in the neighborhood, and only felt comfortable trusting his information with Trejo.

Deputy Joe Trejo and Deputy Regina Yost flank Janice Murray, director of community relations at AM-1220 KHTS. Photo: LASD

The mother ended up serving a life sentence because of the resident’s witness testimony, Trejo said.

He also endured a small measure of controversy when former City Councilwoman Jill Klajic criticized Trejo in the summer of 1997. After publicly questioning Trejo’s law enforcement skills, a crowd of Newhall residents came to his defense, leading the mayor to publicly “backpedal,” according to a story at the time. (Read a mention of it here on SCVHistory.com.)

A few years later, former City Councilman Frank Ferry kiddingly referred to Trejo as the mayor of Newhall, after Trejo introduced Ferry, who was mayor of Santa Clarita at the time.

“The Santa Clarita Valley has definitely been good to me,” he said, “that’s why I stopped bouncing around when I got here — I found a home.”

For the last few years, as one of the senior members of the station, Trejo used his experience to help out his fellow deputies, leaving a lasting impression on many, including Deputy Josh Dubin, who considers Trejo a mentor.

“As a young deputy, he helped show me the ropes and set an example for how to interact with the community,” Dubin said, “something he’s done for a lot of us at the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station.”

Trejo credited Dubin for giving him the nickname Uncle Joe, after Dubin joked on day that he was only 2 or 3 years old when Trejo earned his badge.

“It could have been worse,” Trejo supposed, with his easy going nature. “At least it wasn’t ‘Grandpa.’”

While Trejo will miss the challenges of the job, which was one of the things he enjoyed most, after two decades of helping Santa Clarita Valley, he might go back and watch some of those old “Adam 12” reruns on MeTV.

“I was one of the ‘Adam 12’ kids,” Trejo said, recalling the show’s famous line.

“But I never said, ‘Just the facts, ma’am,” he joked. “That’s actually kind of rude — we let people tell us their stories.”