Transient Arrested for Trespassing, Resisting Arrest

San Luis Police officers arrested a local transient for trespassing and resisting arrest on Friday about 5:15 p.m.

Richard Kirenga

According to SLOPD, officers responded to the area of the Maxine Lewis Homeless Shelter to a report of a male trespassing on their property.

Police say shelter employees reported Richard Kirenga, 33 had returned to the property in violation of a shelter suspension order and previous trespass warnings.

According to SLOPD, Kirenga previously behaved aggressively towards other clients and was suspended from the property for 150 days on October 16.

Additionally, police say Kirenga is considered an officer safety risk due to a violent assault on a Santa Barbara Police Officer in 2008 and the aggressive behavior he has displayed when contacted by SLOPD officers in previous encounters.

Police say Kirenga also has been charged with resisting arrest by SLOPD on multiple occasions. Kirenga is also known to SLOPD officers to carry rocks and other blunt objects in his pockets to use as weapons against police officers.

When SLOPD officers arrived in the area, Kirenga was located on McMillen Street, which is approximately one block away from the homeless shelter.

Officers say they contacted Kirenga because he had just committed the crime of trespassing and were going to affect a citizen’s arrest at the request of the homeless shelter supervisor for this violation.

Police say Kirenga was uncooperative with officers and refused to comply with their lawful orders to remove his hands from his pockets.

Officers approached Kirenga after he refused to comply with repeated orders to remove his hands and attempted to physically pull his hands from his pockets.

The suspect began flailing his arms about, forcing officers to place him on the ground in an effort to safely handcuff him.

Kirenga continued to struggle with the two police officers and it was not until the third officer arrived that his resistance could be overcome and he was safely handcuffed. Kirenga and the involved officers were uninjured during this incident.

When he was searched after his arrest, two large, jagged rocks and one corkscrew were removed from his pockets in which his hands had been in when contacted by the officers.

Police say Kirenga had two outstanding warrants for his arrest, one of which was for resisting arrest on a prior occasion.

Kirenga was booked into San Luis Obispo County Jail without further incident. He was charged with trespassing, resisting arrest and two arrest warrants.

Kirenga’s bail was set at $10,000 and he has been released from custody.

Read More:

CalCoastNews: Police Defend Homeless Arrest

San Luis Obispo Tribune: Video of Homeless Man’s Arrest Interpreted Two Ways