Spring 2025

C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • S P R I N G 2 0 2 5 111 of Harlem, I can act, so I’ll just audition, get in, and get the girl.’ But in less than a week I got bit by the acting bug.” A decade after “CHiPs,” Estrada gained a new wave of fans when he was tapped to star in a show south of the border. He was catapulted to stardom in the Spanish-speaking world and beyond as a trucker named Johnny on one of the most popular telenovelas of all time, “Dos Mujeres, un Camino.”The highly acclaimed show aired in 47 countries and was so successful that Rupert Murdoch visited during production to research the process used by the studio, with Estrada acting as his host and guide. Since then, Estrada has continued to steadily work in film and television and in 2007, a TV series he was pitched presented an opportunity for him to ful- fill his lifelong dream of being a cop. He signed on for the show, “Armed & Famous,” and trav- eled to Muncie, Indiana, to train with the Muncie Police Department. He graduated from the police academy and was sworn in as a police officer there in 2008. Estrada stayed with the department as a reserve officer for three years, patrolling three midnight shifts a week for three months of the year, but at the age of 62, he felt he was getting a little too old to be busting up bar fights and pulling over cars in the middle of the night. Not yet ready to leave law enforce- ment behind, he jumped at an opportunity brought to him by his friend, Shaquille O’Neal. O’Neal put him in touch with the Sheriff of Bedford County, Virginia, where a bilingual proj- ect to teach internet safety to kids was in the works. Estrada signed on and ended up joining the sheriff ’s department there as a full-time deputy, where he worked for eight years tracking down child predators through the department’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. Though now in his 70s, Estrada isn’t slowing down. He continues to work in television and to lend his time and energy to those causes close to his heart, including law enforcement, veterans charities, and children’s safety. But when he does In 2007, Estrada received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, which he dedicated to the men and women of law enforcement. Photo: NBC Universal Photo: Shutterstock Editorial