Stafford Sheriff’s Office Honors its Own

STAFFORD, Va. — The Stafford County Sheriff’ s Office held its annual awards ceremony on Thursday, May 3, 2012 to honor law enforcement personnel who have provided exemplary service to the community.

“Law enforcement officers put their lives on the line every day to serve and protect the citizens of Stafford,” said Stafford County Sheriff Charles E. Jett. “The awards ceremony is an opportunity to formally acknowledge their extraordinary efforts and show our appreciation for their hard work and dedication.”

Jett presented 53 honorees with awards for their actions and performance. A Meritorious Award was given for emergencies in which a sheriff’ s office member demonstrated judgment, ingenuity or performance that clearly exceeds what is required and expected.

A Commendation Award was given in the instances in which a sheriff’s office member demonstrated exemplary service. A Traffic Safety Award was given to two deputies for traffic safety prevention, education and enforcement. A Community Award was given for initiating and then working to pass the Blue Alert Law. A Unit Citation Award was given for overall excellence during a specific event or incident.

Individuals were selected by an Awards Committee consisting of personnel from the Operations, Criminal Investigations and Civil//Court Divisions and the Public Information Office. Individuals were nominated by other deputies or personnel of the sheriff’s office. The committee evaluated the nominations based on the following criteria: bravery and heroism; exemplary performance which directly resulted in the solution of a major crime or crimes, or apprehension of a particularly dangerous criminal; and exceptional performance. The committee forwarded all nominations that they recommend to the Sheriff for his review and action.

The following personnel received awards:

Virginia State Senator Richard H. Stuart received the Legislative Community Award and Ms. Irene Egan received the Citizen Community Award for their combined efforts initiating and then having passed in the Virginia Legislature the Blue Alert Law. This law works the same as an Amber Alert when searching for a law enforcement officer that is found missing in the line of duty or for a suspect who has just caused the death or serious injury of a law enforcement officer.

Senior Detective Michelle M. Gibbons, Master Detective Christopher P. Cameron, Senior Detective Sean M. Danyluk, Master Detective Timothy A. Covington, Detective First Class Eric D. Chinault, Detective Barry Surles, Senior Deputy Benjamin P. Woodson and Deputy First Class Kurt W. McBride were recipients of a Letter of Commendation for their combined efforts in solving a brutal homicide. The 17 year old suspect eventually plead guilty to murdering her own mother.

Sergeant Chadwick S. Oxley and Master Detective Christopher P. Cameron received a Letter of Commendation for their combined efforts in helping retrieve a missing grandchild that had been brought to Stafford by a non-custodial parent.

Senior Deputy Angelo M. Irizarry received a Letter of Commendation for his efforts in handling an incident that involved a high school student assaulting Deputy Irizarry.

Sergeant Lance E. Barley, Deputy First Class Heather R. Scanlon, Senior Detective Michelle M. Gibbons, Senior Telecommunicator Angela D. McIlwain, Telecommunicator 1 Karen L. Roy, Senior Telecommunicator Angela M. Davis, Master Telecommunicator Tammy A. Embrey and Telecommunicator Jennifer L. Taylor received a Letter of Commendation for their combined work in the apprehension of two bank robbers who were driving through Stafford after robbing a bank in another locality.

Detective First Class Sarah C. Montgomery, Lieutenant William M. Cox (Prince William County Police Department), First Sergeant Michael H. Hustwayte, PWCPD, Officer Matthew L. West, PWCPD, and Officer William N. Dalton, formerly of the PWCPD, were recipients of a Meritorious Award for saving the life of a Sheriff’ s office detective during a scuba diving exercise.

Senior Detective Edgar L. McCullough III and Detective Barry L. Surles received a Letter of Commendation for their efforts in solving the largest scrap metal case in Stafford County history.

Master Detective Timothy S Martin, Detective First Class Eric D. Chinault and Detective Barry L. Surles were recipients of a Letter of Commendation for the apprehension of a multi-jurisdictional serial burglar.

First Sergeant Christopher W. Reed, Communications Supervisor Debra A. Lareza Communications Training Officer Christopher A. Conley, Communications Supervisor Susan P. Stanley, Communications Supervisor Carole A. Raber, Communications Supervisor Karen L. Stephenson, Senior Telecommunicator Theresa L. Davis, Master Telecommunicator Tammy A. Embrey, Senior Telecommunicator Jamie M. Johnson, Senior Telecommunicator Angela D. McIlwain, Telecommunicator James W. Rector Jr., Master Telecommunicator Tammy M. Tolson, and Telecommunicator Tonya A. Barb received a Unit Citation for the team work they displayed during and directly after the August 23, 2011 earthquake.

Master Deputy William D. Crane received a Letter of Commendation for the Traffic Safety Unit for overall excellence in traffic safety and traffic safety education.

Deputy Matthew R. Flick received the Traffic Safety Award for the Patrol Unit for his work in numerous areas of traffic safety on the roads of Stafford County.

Emergency Communications Center Assistant Director Nicholas E. Stepaniak, Communications Supervisor Karen L. Stephenson, Mater Telecommunicator Kimberly I. Barley, Master Telecommunicator Tammy A. Embrey, Telecommunicator 1 Karen L. Roy, Telecommunicator Russell J. Ferguson and Senior Telecommunicator Jamie J. Johnson each received a Letter of Commendation for their combined efforts on an extremely busy day in February of 2011.

Master Detective Mark E. Steininger received a Letter of Commendation for locating, pursuing and arresting two robbery suspects.

First Sergeant Robert J. Grella, Deputy First Class James R. Kingman and Deputy First Class Kurt W. McBride received a Letter of Commendation for their combined efforts in locating and arresting a man wanted for two homicides who had come to Stafford but was wanted out of Connecticut.

Deputy First Class Douglas G. Aloisio, Deputy First Class Daren A. Volpe and Deputy First Class James R. Kingman were recipients of a Letter of Commendation for their work in solving a robbery.

First Sergeant Renzo A. Beltran, Detective Christopher L. Jacobs, Deputy First Class Kurt W. McBride and Deputy Joseph R. Duggins are recipients of a Letter of Commendation for their work in the location, apprehension and confession of an armed robbery suspect who came to Stafford County form another jurisdiction.

Deputy Paul A. Leonard received a Letter of Commendation for his work in preventing a suicidal subject from taking his own life.

Master Deputy Ricardo Rodriquez and Deputy First Class Charles M. Havasy were each recipients of a Meritorious Award for their efforts in saving the life of a despondent man who had sat down in the middle of a busy highway.

-Press release

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