Roll of Honor
Incident
Deputy Sheriff Roy Chester was killed in a helicopter accident while working on a multi-agency narcotics task force along the United States border. A suspicious vehicle was spotted in a canyon on a remote access road in the Mountain Springs Grade area. The UH-1H helicopter began to descend when its rotor blades struck power lines and caused it to crash in the foothills of the Laguna Mountains. Also killed in the accident were Investigator Michael Davis of the Riverside County Sheriff's Department, Deputy Sheriff James McSweeney of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, Sergeant Richard Romero of the Imperial County Sheriff's Department, Deputy Mark Tonkin of the Orange County Sheriff's Department, and the three California National Guard crew members operating the flight. Deputy Chester had served with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department for 12 years.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife and three children.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-CA-60CF9CC3- 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 never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Deputy Sheriff Chester gave the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department 12 years.
Thank you for your service to the Los Angeles community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Deputy Sheriff Chester.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Deputy Sheriff Roy Allan Chester 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 Los Angeles County Sheriff's Dept., 50 of 120 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 41.7% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Roy Allan Chester's cause is highlighted.
How Roy Allan Chester Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Roy Allan Chester is highlighted in Oct.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
119 officers from Los Angeles County Sheriff's Dept. are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
