Roll of Honor
Manuel Villegas
Incident
Deputy Sheriff Manuel Villegas was killed in an automobile crash while responding to a domestic disturbance at approximately 1:00 am.
He was driving behind another officer when an oncoming vehicle crossed into their lane on Pierce Street near 63rd Avenue in Thermal. The officer in the lead car was able to swerve out of the way, but Deputy Villegas was unable to and the two vehicles collided.
The other driver and Deputy Villegas were both killed in the accident.
Deputy Villegas was a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and had served with the Riverside County Sheriff's Department for 17 months.
Survivors
He is survived by his wife and four children.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-CA-9C5F8C89- Stewardship
- Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
- Added to badge.nw
- April 2, 2026
- Last updated
- July 23, 2026
Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.
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Tributes
I served 1985 to 1993. You served too, before the badge - different uniform, same idea. You go where you are sent and you do not get to pick the call.
Deputy Sheriff Villegas gave the Riverside County Sheriff's Department 1 year.
Thank you for your service to the Riverside community. Thank you for your service before it. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, brother.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Military Service
Manuel Villegas served in the United States military before joining law enforcement. Full service record available on salute.nw.
Deputy Sheriff Manuel Villegas is one of 10,088 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 31% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In CA, 719 of 1,837 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 39.1% of this state's fallen. That is 8.1 percentage points above the national rate of 31%.
At Riverside County Sheriff's Department, 12 of 27 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 44.4% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Manuel Villegas's cause is highlighted.
How Manuel Villegas Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Manuel Villegas is highlighted in Mar.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
26 officers from Riverside County Sheriff's Department are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
