Shooting Contest to Raise Money for Brutally Beaten Reserve Deputy

By Jessica Carreiro

Friends and loved ones of Rancho Santa Margarita Reserve sheriff’s Sgt. Jon Kudla are rallying to his aid this month with an unusual fundraiser in Lake Forest.

Kudla is recovering from a brutal attack, allegedly perpetrated by his son in May, that sent him to the hospital with severe head wounds. In response, an old friend and fellow member of the sheriff's Search and Rescue Team is organizing a shooting contest to raise funds for Kudla and his family.  

Cindi Powalski, who met Kudla through the search team and has been friends with him for eight years, organized the event.

“He’s been [doing Search and Rescue] for 17 years,” said Powalski. “He’s given a lot to this community.”  

Powalski hopes to raise at least $20,000 from the event and encourages anyone who wishes to donate to the family to contact her directly at (949) 230-2220 or at CindiPowalski.com.  

“I wish I could do more,” Powalski added. “I really do.”

Although Powalski is prohibited by the Sheriff's Department from commenting on Kudla’s condition, she said he is improving.

The fundraiser is a weeklong shooting competition at the Artemis Defense Institute Virtual Training Facility in Lake Forest. The virtual shooting range is inviting practice sessions for $5 a round leading up to the event. Preliminaries begin on Monday and lasts through Friday.  

The challenge will be to get the most accurate score with the fastest time on the facility’s three-system course. It is a steel plate challenge that gets increasingly difficult.

Participants with the fastest times will move on from the preliminaries to the semifinals on Saturday from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. immediately followed by the finals from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.  Anyone can participate with an entry fee of $25. Participants can enter as many times as they’d like, and all proceeds go to Kudla and his family.

“He’s such a great a friend,” said Powalski. “He’s such a loving, giving, wonderful person that I’m sure would do this for anybody.”