Meet Michael T., and the Team That's Protected San Diego Since 2002.

Why I Started This Company

For 15 years at the Chula Vista Police Department, I watched the same thing happen on calls all over San Diego County. A business would get hit. A vacant property would get squatted. An HOA would have a string of break-ins. And almost every time, when I asked who their security was, the answer was the same: a guy in a uniform from a national company that had no idea what was actually happening on the ground.

Most security companies hire fast, train cheap, and rotate guards through properties like rental cars. The guard on duty has no relationship with the property, no training in what to look for, and no real authority to do anything when something goes sideways. Owners were paying for the appearance of protection while the property stayed exposed.

When I retired from CVPD in 2002, I made a decision: I wasn't going to step away from this work, I was going to do it the way it should be done. Real training. Real protocols. Real documentation. The same investigative instincts and discipline I'd built over 15 years on patrol, applied to a private-sector model that owners could actually count on. That's MT Security & Investigations. Twenty-four years later, with more than 200 client engagements behind us, that's still the standard.

My Background

I spent 15 years as a patrol officer and investigator with the Chula Vista Police Department, one of the most active agencies in San Diego County. During that time I worked patrol operations, criminal investigations, theft prevention, and community protection. The department recognized that work with three commendations: Outstanding Officer of the Year in 1991, the Life Saving Award in 1996, and the Auto Theft & Recovery Award in 1997 for investigative work on vehicle theft cases across the county.

What I brought to the private sector is something most security companies can't replicate: the ability to read a property the way a working investigator reads one. I know how trespassers case a building. I know how thieves exploit gaps in a patrol schedule. I know how a small incident, graffiti, a broken latch, a loitering pattern, escalates into something far more serious if no one's watching for it. That knowledge is the difference between actually protecting a property and just standing on it.

I'm still personally involved in every engagement we take. I do the initial property walk myself. I design the security plan. I select the officers assigned to the account and review their incident reports. When you hire MT Security, you're not getting a regional manager and a 1-800 number, you're getting my direct cell phone and a person who has staked his name on the work since 2002.

Awards & Commendations

What We're Actually Here to Do

Protect what matters to you. For a bank managing vacant properties, that means rapid deployment, daily photo logs, and documentation that lenders, regulators, and insurance carriers can rely on. For an HOA board, it means residents who walk to their cars at night without a second thought, and incident reports the board can actually defend in a meeting. For a business owner dealing with a workers' comp claim that doesn't add up, it means surveillance work prepared to the evidentiary standards California civil courts use. We don't promise to eliminate every risk, no honest company can. What we promise is that we'll show up, we'll see what's happening, we'll document it correctly, and we'll respond the way someone with real training responds.

Why Clients Choose Us Over the Big Names

• You talk to the owner, not a call center. When you have a question or a concern, Michael answers. Every time.
• Law enforcement instincts on every shift. Our officers are trained to spot patterns and act early, not just file paperwork after the fact.
• Written reporting on every engagement. Daily activity logs with observations, interactions, and incidents, formatted for insurance, legal, board, or property-management use.
• Local knowledge that takes years to build. 15 years at CVPD plus 24 years of private-sector work in this county means we know how crime moves through these neighborhoods.
• Skin in the game. We're owner-operated. Every shift reflects on the name on the door, and we treat it that way.

Our Service Area

MT Security & Investigations serves the entire greater San Diego area, with particularly deep coverage throughout the south and east county communities where our team is based. We serve the following cities and surrounding communities:

• San Diego (all neighborhoods, including downtown, Mission Valley, North Park, and Clairemont)
• Spring Valley
• Chula Vista
• National City
• La Mesa
• El Cajon
• Santee
• Lemon Grove
• Poway
• Escondido
• And surrounding communities, contact us to confirm coverage for your specific location