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Highway honors Sgt. Steve Owen

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On the one-year anniversary of his killing, a Los

Angeles County sheriff 39;s sergeant was honored today as family members

joined authorities to dedicate a section of State Route 14 in the Antelope

Valley in his name.

“The outpouring by the Antelope Valley community has remained steady

and strong,39;39; Sheriff Jim McDonnell said at a ceremony one year to the day

that sheriff 39;s Sgt. Steve Owen was shot to death last Oct. 5 as he responded

to a young mother 39;s 911 call reporting a burglary at her apartment building in

Lancaster. “Steve Owen was indeed a department leader and had a profound

impact in his role as a law enforcement officer. 39; 39;

The sheriff noted that the freeway signs — which designate a portion of

the highway as the Sgt. Steven C. Owen Los Angeles County Sheriff

Memorial Highway — are the fourth tribute to the slain 53-year- old veteran law

enforcement officer in the area.

The park where the ceremony was held was re-named in Owen 39;s honor,

along with an equestrian center at the Pitchess Detention Center and a horse

trail in Antelope Valley, the sheriff said.

Owen 39;s wife, Tania, who is a Los Angeles County sheriff 39;s detective,

called it “truly an honor and a pleasure for myself and my family to be here

today just to see everyone come together today to honor someone that we

absolutely love and admire to this day. 39; 39;

“My husband, Sgt. Steve Owen, was a law enforcement officer to the

community, but he was our world, he was my world, my best friend and the

love of my life, 39;39; she said, calling him a “father figure and a leader to the men

and women he led and a friend to the community.39;39;

Assemblyman Tom Lackey, R-Palmdale, who introduced state legislation

that allowed for a section of the highway to be named in Owen 39;s honor, called

him “one of Lancaster 39;s finest heroes.39;39;

“I can assure you that the Antelope Valley will never, ever forget

Sergeant Owen 39;s sacrifice,39;39; Lackey said, noting that the slain sergeant was

committed not only to enforcing the laws of the land but was also a “very,

very dedicated community servant.39; 39;

Lancaster Mayor R. Rex Parris said Owen “made the ultimate sacrifice in

order to ensure the safety of our residents and their families, adding that

the dedication of a portion of the freeway in Owen 39;s honor “will serve as a

continuous reminder of his selfless act, as well as a lesson to us all that we

each have the ability to improve our community — much like Steve did every

day.39;39;

Later this week, Caltrans workers will install the freeway signs, which

were paid for with private funds from the Los Angeles County Professional

Peace Officers Association.

The sheriff 39;s Lancaster and Palmdale stations also posted tributes to

Owen on Twitter.

“Sun comes up on the 1 year anniversary of our beloved Sgt. Steve Owen.

We are here paying our respects, 39;39; read a Tweet from the sheriff 39;s Lancaster

station, which showed sheriff 39;s deputies paying tribute to the slain sergeant.

A Tweet that was posted by the sheriff 39;s Palmdale station read, “One

year ago, we lost a hero. Sergeant Steve Owen 39;s legacy will always continue

to live on in the Antelope Valley. 39; 39;

Trenton Trevon Lovell, a parolee accused of shooting Owen as he

responded to the burglary call and then pumping four additional shots into the

veteran lawman once he was down, remains jailed without bail while awaiting

a hearing to determine if there is enough evidence to require him to stand trial

on murder and other charges.

Lovell, now 28, allegedly held a brother and sister in a neighboring

house in Lancaster at knifepoint after convincing them that he had been

robbed and needed help after the shooting, authorities said. The young

woman, Nancy Arrowsmith-Hart, secretly texted her mother, who alerted

sheriff 39;s deputies about Lovell 39;s location, and her brother, Trevor Hart, locked

the family 39;s barking dog in a room where guns were stored, according to the

District Attorney 39;s Office, which honored the two siblings as “courageous

citizens 39; 39; in April.

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