By Gail Penniman
How it All Began
Tom Gilbertson and his six siblings grew up in Santa Cruz, raised by a very determined single mother, Dolores Weiss. His ancestors came here from the east coast around 1910, having originated in England and France the century before. After attending several local elementary schools, he graduated from Branciforte Junior High School and spent four years at Harbor High School when it first opened. As a senior he decided on a career in law enforcement then entered Cabrillo College’s “Police Science” program – later known as “Administration of Justice.” In 1974 he earned his AS degree and in 1975 became a reservist for the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office.
Sheriff’s Deputy
Gilbertson worked as a member of every specialty team during those 25 years, including Domestic Violence, SWAT, Dive Team, Bomb Team, Search and Rescue and performed as a Field Officer Trainer. In 1979 the Dive Team had just completed a training that included a simulated water crash of an aircraft in the Monterey Bay. About a month later, an open cockpit bi-plane was performing stunts over the bay when one wing clipped the water and it went under. After two days of searching, his team recovered the plane finding the unfortunate pilot still strapped in his seat. In his career, he has performed dozens of dives to recover evidence and the deceased.
As part of Search and Rescue Gilbertson was trained in man-tracking, a skill that proved useful while assisting with the Trailside Killer Case in the 1980s when David Carpenter began his killing spree. Gilbertson searched trails in the local State Park system for a shoe track that was unique to the case.
District Attorney Inspector
In Domestic Violence cases, DA Inspectors might carry dozens of cases simultaneously. In the case of a homicide, they might work one case exclusively, but if they need to go into hazardous situations, they take another DA Inspector with them or an officer from another agency. There’s a lot of teamwork involved.
A memorable case for Inspector Gilbertson was when he was working on a multi-agency task force involved in undercover investigations. He wore his hair quite long so he could blend in to the culture. The Auto Theft Task Force worked in concert with Narcotics and set up a fake auto repair shop where they “bought” stolen cars and methamphetamine from gang members. Over a year they were able to gather enough evidence to yield 58 arrest warrants! In his homicide work, Gilbertson has a 100% conviction rate!
Advice to Aspiring Detectives
Brought Together
In 1997 while working in the Domestic Violence Division, Gilbertson made the acquaintance of a woman named Patricia who was a DV Advocate with Woman’s Crisis Support. They worked on many cases together. In 1998 the acquaintance became more of a friendship and in 2000 she and Tom Gilbertson were married. Patricia later began running a daycare and every Wednesday she provided her amazing baked goods for the kids’ parents. Soon these wonderful treats were coming to the DA’s office too. Now that Tom is retired, as of May 5, 2017, they will have lots more adventures together and with their children and many grandchildren. Gilbertson also plans to seize opportunities to take his Harley onto the roadways of our beautiful county and state. All the best to you Tom Gilbertson and thank you for 41 years of service!