By Ayana Arroyo
Laura Lomeli works hard every day, her expertise being useful in the specialization for the investigation of sex crimes. Lomeli helped to place two serial killers in jail.
Before catching bad guys though, Lomeli was at East Los Angeles College expanding her knowledge in administrative justice.
During the fall of 2005 Lomeli, being a recent graduate of UCLA with a Bachelor’s in economics, decided to contact AJ Department Chair Patrick Hauser.
Lomeli talked with Hauser about the hiring process of the Anaheim Police Department. She explained to Hauser, that she lacked knowledge in the administrative justice department and wanted to prepare as much as she could for her police training, which would begin with-in the next six months.
Hauser decided to contact AJ Vice Chair Wayne Posner. Hauser and Posner created a plan with a list of courses which would best help Lomeli prepare for the Police Academy.
Soon after, Lomeli graduated from the Police Academy and not-too-soon-after began her career at the Anaheim Police Department.
Hauser and Posner kept in contact with Lomeli, she would tell them how the courses she took at ELAC really helped her, throughout her training during the police academy.
Seeing her astonishing academic performance, Hauser and Posner, decided on using the courses they gave Lomeli, as the basis of the AJ Department’s Basic Police Academy Preparation certificate.
Because of Lomeli’s hard work, thirty-six students at ELAC have now received this certificate. Many of those students have also obtained a career in the law enforcement field.
Lomeli continues to work hard. She was called in to assist homicide detectives with an investigation of a chain of murders in Santa Ana and Anaheim, due to her vast knowledge in electronic tracking of sex offenders.
Not to long after, two suspects were arrested, both of whom were registered as sex offenders.