Monthly Report for October 2015

Dear Citizens,

I want to start by saying how proud I am to have been part of such a great team of devoted professionals during the flooding events we have had here in Navarro County these past weeks. I was out in the field conducting operations as well as inside the command post making decisions and I have witnessed an awesome amount of teamwork. There is no way I could even begin to name all the numerous individuals, both paid and volunteer, as well as the agencies who have assisted during this situation.

I would, though, like to give a special mention for the Navarro County Sheriff’s Office Dispatchers and praise them for all their hard work and for the amazing dedication they have shown. Ladies, I am very proud of you for your hard work, dedication, and for the commitment you displayed during this extremely chaotic time in our county. You are most definitely an asset to our department and to the community you serve and I personally want to say thank you.

We received historical amounts of rain this month with some areas of the county receiving over 34 inches of rainfall. Fortunately I am glad to report we have not had any loss of life as a result of these floods.

I, along with many others, had a great time at the annual Kerens Cotton Festival enjoying the food, music, numerous booths. I was again moved to see the Veteran’s Memorial and all the hard work, pride and support that has been put into this community project to recognize and honor our local veterans.

We proudly participated in the annual Navarro College Career Expo Day. High school students from a five county region who attend the event had an opportunity to explore various future career planning options.

We hope everyone had a safe Halloween and will take the opportunity to enjoy the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday and time spent with family and friends.

Detective Sergeants Jason Earles and Robbie Jock recovered three stolen vehicles in the DFW metroplex which had been stolen from local Corsicana auto dealerships. Two of the vehicles were entered stolen by NCSO and one entered stolen by Corsicana Police. The suspect was placed in the Tarrant County Jail. Also NCSO and CPD Detectives recovered thousands of dollars in stolen property at a residence in Angus which had been stolen during a recent burglary of a Corsicana business. As a result of that investigation, another burglary in the county has been resolved with two felony arrest warrants issued and additional stolen property recovered. The suspect was later arrested by CPD and remains in custody at the Justice Center.

During the first night of the flooding and all chaos that went with, trying to keep people safe on the roads, conducting rescues, keeping you informed, aware and updated on any and all happenings that could affect you the citizens, we received a bomb threat at the Justice center. We are currently investigating the threat along with the Dallas FBI and this individual will be sought out and action will be taken.

We have a report from one of our citizens stating she received a phone call and the caller ID showed the callers number as 903-654-3002 which is the administrative line for NCSO. The caller tried to solicit money by stating that he was a detective at the NCSO and a warrant was about to be obtained for check fraud, deception by fraud and other crimes if she did not send $900 to him through American Cash Advance. The number to call back for questions or information was a 202 area code. Three things I want our citizens to be aware of at this time: If you receive a call from the NCSO, the caller ID will NOT show the number 903-654-3002. The area code 202 is not a local area code and does NOT affiliate to Texas and most importantly, the NCSO does NOT call to warn anyone of a warrant, solicit payment to prevent charges or solicit money. I cannot stress enough, please be cautious and do not fall victim to this or any of the many scams being perpetrated against our citizens. The IRS scam is popular right now as well. The IRS does not call anyone advising to send them money. Don't be victimized. If you are ever in doubt, contact your local law enforcement.

The NCSO arrested a suspect in a burglary of a habitation that had just occurred in Corsicana where deputies also recovered a vehicle that was stolen during the burglary. Our NCSO dispatched a complaint of a maroon SUV driving recklessly at a high rate of speed on West Highway 31 east of Dawson. Approximately four minutes from the call being dispatched, NCSO Animal Warden Deputy Kipp Thomas observed the suspect vehicle driving erratically as it traveled west on Highway 31. Deputy Thomas followed the vehicle in a marked NCSO pickup while radioing for assistance. Dawson Police Sergeant Michael Carter and Deputy Kris Matthews assisted Deputy Thomas with a traffic stop at Dawson. The officers found the suspect was armed with two handguns and quickly verified that the vehicle was the vehicle that had just been stolen from a residence in Corsicana, although it had not yet been reported. Once the deputies spoke with the vehicle’s registered owner, she quickly determined that her residence, along with two additional vehicles at her residence in Corsicana, had also been burglarized. The suspect was arrested at the scene for possession of firearm by a convicted felon and was later charged with the additional burglaries by investigators from the Corsicana Police Department. I am extremely proud of Deputy Thomas and even more importantly, we were able to recover the 87-year-old victim’s property so quickly.

We finally got our new 2015 Chevy prisoner transport van that will be replacing our old 1999 Ford transport van. We received a refund check of $5,931 from Southern Health Partners for a contract adjustment of minimum amount of prisoners monthly. The NCSO has sold $9,560 of hay and we still have close to 200 round bales of 2015 hay for sale. The price is $40 per roll with a 10 roll minimum purchase. Loading is available and if you are interested, you may contact Captain Jeramy Phillips at 903-654-3002.

The Sheriff's Office had 1,645 calls for service in October and our dispatch received 2,845 calls for assistance to 9-1-1.

There were approximately 290 persons arrested and booked into the Navarro County Justice Center in October, and the average daily jail population was 204 inmates.

The Narcotics unit arrested 15 suspects, filed 24 criminal cases and served three outstanding arrest warrants. Ten inmates were transferred to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and five other inmates were transferred to State Jail and SAFP units to serve their sentences.

The NCSO narcotics unit executed a narcotics search warrant at a local Corsicana hotel and arrested two previously convicted felons. Approximately 56 grams of methamphetamine (Ice) was seized along with several different types of controlled substances in pill form. Approximately $600 cash and drug paraphernalia was also seized at the location. The NCSO tactical team assisted CPD narcotics with a narcotics search warrant execution at the Eastside Apartments in Corsicana where two suspects were arrested for possession in a drug-free zone.

We estrayed two horses and three donkeys and transported them to the county farm at Petty’s Chapel, sold four estray horses and four estray donkeys at the Cleburne Horse Sale for $647.12 as well as sold three estray llamas at Hubbard Livestock for $268.53.

This month we rehired one detention officer and had one Patrol Deputy resign. All divisions are full except the patrol division which currently has three vacancies. Applications will continue to be taken for any vacancy until the position is filled.

"Leaders strengthen credibility by demonstrating that they are not in it for themselves; instead, they have the interests of the institution, department, or team and its constituents at heart. Being a servant may not be what many leaders had in mind when they choose to take responsibility for the vision and direction of their organization or team, but serving others is the most glorious and rewarding of all leadership tasks." — James Kouzes and Barry Posner

As always, God bless and be safe.

Sheriff Elmer Tanner