Monthly Report for June 2017

Dear Citizens,

This month we celebrated and recognized numerous special occasions.

National Correctional Officers Week:
In 1984, President Ronald Reagan signed Proclamation 5187, creating "National Correctional Officers Week." Each year, the first full week in May is recognized as National Correctional Officers and Employees Week, commemorating the contributions of correctional officers and personnel who work in jails, prisons, and community corrections across the country.

The services provided by the dedicated and hard working men and women of corrections are vital to every community. I would also like to thank and recognize the families of these correctional officers as well. These men and women are also husbands, wives, mothers and fathers and often have to miss school activities, holidays, weekends and other activities with their families because of the job. When you have the opportunity, thank our Navarro County Sheriff's Office correctional officers for their dedication and commitment to our community.

Peace Officer Memorial Week:
In 1962, President Kennedy proclaimed May 15th as National Peace Officers Memorial Day and the calendar week in which May 15th falls, as National Police Week. Established by a joint resolution of Congress in 1962, National Police Week pays special recognition to those law enforcement officers who have lost their lives in the line of duty for the safety and protection of others. On this day we celebrate those who protect and serve us every minute of every day, and we honor the courageous officers who devoted themselves so fully to others that in the process they laid down their lives. Greater love has no one than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends. ‑ John 15:13.

We at the NCSO would like to thank all those who helped us in recognizing National Police Week by stopping by, bringing gifts and food, liking our posts, as well as all the kind comments and compliments on Facebook or by simply saying thank you to our officers for our service. As law enforcement officers, we understand and accept that on any given day, fulfilling our duty, may require us to lay down our life. But not only did we take an oath to serve and protect, we also take pride in serving the citizens we serve in our county and state. So again, thank you to all those who called, came by or acknowledged our officers with your kind words and appreciation.

Also observed in May were National Day of Prayer, where prayers were said for all law enforcement, first responders, our country and its leaders; National Armed Forces Day, as we salute all our brave men and women, past, present and future. And we would add, not just on National Armed Forces Day, but every day, we say thank you if you have served in the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force or Coast Guard. Thank you.

On Memorial Day, the Sheriff's Department Honor and Color Guards took part in two separate events. The Navarro County Veterans Memorial program at the courthouse, and the Woodland Cemetery Memorial Day Ceremony. We are very proud of the men and women who make up our Honor and Color Guards for their time, for their dedication to this detail and for taking their Memorial Day away from family and spending it honoring those who have made the ultimate sacrifice on behalf of our great country.

We had the opportunity to interact with some of our youth this month by hosting a law enforcement program at the Navarro County Justice Center for 21 of our local Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts. A special thank you to our own Ed Straubing for putting on this program and to NCSO's Sgt. Melanie Cagle who was proud to visit with the Shady Grove Missionary Baptist Church Youth Group. We are always proud to interact with the youth of our community. The youth of today are our future leaders tomorrow.

I am very proud to report that the final stage of the roof restoration has now begun at the Navarro County Justice Center. I cannot begin to tell you and express what a relief it will be to finally have this project completed and no more issues with potential leaks in the facility. This will complete a project that we have steadily worked on for over five years now. The original facility was built in 1988 and the annex was added in 1996. Both roofs have definitely exceeded their 20 year service expectancy.

As stated in a previous article, we recently completed a high profile civil trial that was held in the Navarro County Courthouse, which included 650 summons sent to potential jurors to report during the first two days of the operation.

At the peak of the operation, the NCSO had 21 deputies and six DPS officers assigned to the operation with various duties ranging from inner security, outer security, transport details and bailiffs. During the course of the trial, 313.5 hours of overtime was logged with 48.5 hours logged in one day alone. The total overtime cost is projected between $10.000 and $15,000.

During this time though, we continued to dispatch, patrol, investigate crimes, serve arrest warrants and serve civil process orders, along with operating the jail. We also conducted TDCJ transports, prisoner extraditions, prisoner transports to the courthouse, mental transports, and provided bailiffs for the visiting judge, district judge, county court at law judge, county judge and security for commissioner's court. This was a stress and took its toll on all personnel, but we never wavered or shrugged our duties nor one responsibility.

I want to express again my sincerest appreciation to all the men and women of the NCSO and other agencies for their hard work, dedication and for not once shrugging their duties and responsibilities during this trial. I want to also thank the NCSO officers who were not assigned to the trial but pulled an additional load in assuring that all other normal business operations were conducted as well.

To the many citizens who were impacted and affected by this trial, I appreciate you all as well and want to personally thank you for your patience and understanding as I know some days it was an inconvenience.

The NCSO apprehended a suspect who fled from a district court proceeding held in the JP courtroom. During the course of a civil proceeding it was determined and announced that a felony warrant was being issued for the suspect and the District Judge advised the suspect to be seated and not to leave the courtroom.

The suspect, upon learning of a pending felony warrant being issued immediately, created a verbal disturbance and fled the courtroom, reported to be last seen running east on West 2nd Avenue. The District Judge immediately issued an order to apprehend and the suspect was apprehended several blocks from the NCSO within approximately 15 minutes and returned to the courtroom where he again created a verbal disturbance and was held in contempt of court by the District Judge. I commend the combined efforts of our Patrol and CID Divisions in quickly apprehending this suspect and bringing him back to the court.

I would like to commend Detective Sgt. Jason Earles for a job well done as he was driving his departmental unmarked vehicle when he observed suspicious activity near the intersection of North Beaton and 2nd Avenue in Corsicana. Sgt. Earles observed a male subject acting suspiciously as he walking around a vehicle that was parked near CTBM. Sgt. Earles stopped and began conducting visual surveillance and later observed the suspect enter the vehicle and remove some contents. Sgt. Earles immediately contacted CTBM and inquired about ownership of the vehicle and its content while keeping an eye on the suspect who was walking away from the location. A description of the vehicle's contents by the owner was an exact match for what he had seen the suspect remove from the vehicle. Sgt. Earles then proceeded to stop the suspect and place him in custody for on-view burglary of a motor vehicle and he recovered the stolen property.

This is exactly the type of proactive law enforcement stance that we have taken at the NCSO and I'm proud to report this crime was solved before it could even be reported.

The U.S. Marshals Service partnered with the NCSO to arrest a fugitive from justice in Corsicana wanted on two counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child under 14 years of age. The arrest warrants were issued by Ft. Worth PD. I am very proud to report that because of our combined efforts this fugitive was located, arrested, placed in the Navarro County Justice Center and subsequently transferred back to Ft. Worth.

An arrest was made by Detective Sgt. Jason Earles in one of the most gruesome investigations that we have handled in a long while. A report was made to the Navarro County Sheriff's Office that on NE CR 1040 near Rice, a person was illegally slaughtering animals and selling the meat. Sgt. Earles opened an investigation into the matter. Sgt. Earles later obtained aerial video footage utilizing our departmental drone of the property, and found that there were multiple shallow holes holding water with what appeared to be the decaying carcasses of animals in the water.

On May 11, 2017, Sgt. Earles and other deputies of the Navarro County Sheriff's Office executed a search warrant issued by 13th District Judge James Lagomarsino on the property. The search warrant execution revealed shallow holes that contained decaying animal carcasses, blood, and other animal waste. These holes were holding water and the foul odor of the carcasses was prevalent on the property. Sgt Earles also located a makeshift structure that served as a slaughter location. The structure had tarps for a roof and a concrete floor with a winch attached to a roof support beam. In the structure were large hooks hanging from rafters and a large meat band saw. Sgt. Earles obtained warrants for three counts of Intentional or Knowing Unauthorized Discharge Felony 3rd, three counts of Knowing or Intentional Unauthorized Disposal of Lead-Acid Batteries Class A Misdemeanor for the suspect, and affected the arrest without incident. Sgt. Earles is working with the State Department of Health and Navarro County Health Inspector on this case.

Lt. Clint Andrews and Sgt. Rickey Ragan responded to a narcotics complaint in the 2100 block of Jones Street in Corsicana. During the course of an investigation at the location the detectives arrested two suspects and seized over a quarter ounce of cocaine in crack form. One suspect at the location was found to have two outstanding arrest warrants issued by CPD. It was also determined that the location of the narcotics seizure is a Drug Free Zone. Both suspects were arrested and charged with Manufacture/Delivery of controlled substance P.G. 1 over four/under 200 grams in a Drug Free Zone, a First Degree Felony.

Two persons were arrested and four grams of methamphetamine was seized during the course of a traffic stop and investigation by Lt. Clint Andrews and Sgt. Rickey Ragan in the 1800 block of West 7th Avenue in Corsicana. The suspects were charged with Manufacture/ Delivery of controlled substance over one/under four grams, which is a second degree felony

An arrest of a Corsicana man with an assault warrant led to the seizure of approximately 20 grams of powder cocaine. After serving an arrest warrant on an individual wanted by the NCSO for assault family violence, the suspect was found to possess approximately 20 grams of cocaine inside his shoe. Capt. Stan Farmer, Lt. Clint Andrews, Sgt. Robbie Jock and Deputy Randall (Boog) Blackwell all participated in the investigation.

This scam was reported to the NCSO this month. Please read carefully and BEWARE:
If you get a call from a stranger asking, "Can you hear me?" hang up the phone. The con aims to get victims to say the word "yes" so scammers can record it. The affirmative response is used by the fraudster to authorize unwanted charges — whether it's to a credit card, a cable or phone account or subscriptions.

Here's how it works: You might receive a call from someone — recent reports say the scammers are claiming they're from a home security agency, a cruise line or associated with Social Security. After the introduction, the recording will ask if you can hear the caller clearly. If you answer "yes," there's a possibility the scam artist has recorded you and will use the response to sign you up for a product or service, and then demand payment. If you refuse to pay, the caller may use your recorded "yes" to confirm your purchase agreement.

In many cases, the scammers already have the person's phone number, which can be used to authorize third-party charges; or they may have a victim's credit card number or cable bill as the result of a data breach. When the victim disputes any charges to an account, the scammer can counter that they have your consent on a recorded line. If you are targeted by this scam, simply hang up the phone, even if you are unsure.

If you receive a call that sounds similar or asks questions seeking affirmation, avoid responding with "yes," "sure" or "OK." Routinely check your credit card statement, phone and cable statements carefully for any unfamiliar charges. If you suspect you have been victimized, call the billing company and dispute anything you did not authorize. The earlier you identify the unauthorized charges on your account, the easier it will be to recover any lost money.

I am proud to report that Patrol Sergeants Joey Jock, Brandon Bates, Corporals Shane Richards, and Tyrone Martin have just completed the Texas Department of Public Safety Intoxilyzer Operator School and have received their Certification. These officers are now certified to operate the Intoxilyzer 9000 machine.

Along with myself, NCSO Detention Officers Vernita Donnell, Kelly Hantsche, Dion Cardwell, Capt. Charlie York, Michael Milligan and Lt. Raychaun Ballard attended at the 31st Annual Texas Jail Association Conference in Austin. This conference is a great opportunity for our officers to get valuable training on current hot topics in the corrections industry, network with other correctional officers from across Texas and meet with vendors to review the newest tools in the correction industry.

We are proud to report that Telecommunicator Della Francis has successfully completed the FTO program for telecommunications and will be scheduled to take the State exam ASAP.

I am a strong believer and proponent in the importance of being proactive. In continuing our proactive approach to law enforcement and law enforcement training, we began our Response to Resistance Training this month for our enforcement personnel at the NCSO. This interactive use of force training is extremely beneficial to officers as scenario based training is as close to experiencing real life situations as possible. The Use of Force Training not only covers many training scenarios such as assault, intoxicated person, suicidal person, bank robbery and hostage situations but also covers how to try and deescalate a situation and gain compliance without using force - which is what we strive for. We are very fortunate to be able to give our officers such high quality training on such an important topic. Thank you Texas Association of Counties and their instructors, Darren Jackson and Thomas Kerss, for honoring my request to bring this valuable training and training simulator to Navarro County.

Now that school is out and summer break is here, we at the Navarro County Sheriff's Office want to congratulate our graduating seniors and wish them all the very best as they head out into the world! Some of our seniors may be preparing for college, others preparing for a career, and the rest still deciding. No matter where you are headed to in life, we want to say congratulations, good luck, God Bless and stay safe!

A reminder to our community: As students of all ages are being dismissed for summer break, remember to be safe and drive cautiously, as children are out playing, walking, riding bikes and enjoying the summer weather.

Of course, summer weather usually means higher temperatures, so remember these tips to beat the heat:
• Take frequent water breaks
• Apply sunscreen with an SPF of at least 15
• Never leave children or pets unattended in a vehicle EVER
• Seek medical attention immediately for any signs of heat-related illness

We would also like to remind everyone traveling in a vehicle to always wear your seat belt and never drink and drive. Seat belt use is the most effective way to protect people and reduce fatalities in motor vehicle crashes. Do not drink and drive – instead, call on a designated driver to get you home safely. Not only do you risk your life when you drive impaired, you are putting the other drivers you share the roadway with at risk as well.

While you are traveling our roadways, boating, camping, or fishing, please remember to practice safety at all times. Mind the speed limits and always be on the lookout for children at play and crossing the streets. The Navarro County Sheriff's Office hopes everyone has a great summer and again, congratulations to all our graduates.

The Sheriff's Office had 3,105 calls for service in May and our Dispatch received 1,912 calls for assistance to 9-1-1. There were approximately 335 persons arrested and booked into the Navarro County Justice Center and the average daily jail population was 257 inmates. The Narcotics Unit arrested 17 suspects, filed 17 criminal cases and served 19 outstanding arrest warrants. Six inmates were transferred to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and eight other inmates were transferred to State Jail and SAFP units to serve their sentences.

This month we estrayed two bulls, one horse, one donkey, and transported them to the county farm at Angus. We also estrayed three sheep and transported them to our county farm at Petty's Chapel. We recovered $185 in estray fees this month.

We currently have one vacancy in courthouse security. As in the past, applications will continue to be taken for any vacancy until the position is filled.

"The most important persuasion tool you have in your entire arsenal is integrity." - Zig Ziglar

As always, God bless and be safe.

Sheriff Elmer Tanner