Stafford Deputies Commended for Bravery after Armed Barricade

STAFFORD COUNTY, Va. — Sheriff Charles E. Jett says 2nd Lt. Brian Jacobs, 1st Sgt. Neal Robey & 1st Sgt. David Stout are two of th bravest men and women who work at the Stafford County Sheriff’s Office.

Both law enforcement officers were called to a barricade situation last year in Spotsylvania County where an armed man barricaded himself in his home. One Stafford sheriff’s deputy was shot and later recovered. Department officials declined to tell Potomac Local News the name of the deputy who was shot.

Jacobs and Robey were honored along with 43 others at a recent department award ceremony in Stafford County.

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

In addition to outstanding bravery, awards were also given for deputies who exercised good judgement, outstanding performance, and those who prevented motor vehicle crashes.

The following personnel received awards:

AWARD RECIPIENTS

2^nd Lt. Brian Jacobs, 1^st Sgt. Neal Robey & 1^st Sgt. David Stout are all recipients of a Medal of Valor for knowingly placing their lives in peril of death while saving the lives of two fellow deputies who had been shot by a heavily armed male who had barricaded himself in his residence.

1^st Lt. Joseph Pitman, Sgt. Joeseph Bice, Sgt. William Walker, Detective Kurt McBride, Deputy First Class Kevin Lytle Jr.,  Deputy First Class Johnny Miller, Deputy First Class James Kingman, Deputy First Class Jason Forman, Deputy First Class William Johnson and Deputy First Class Bryan Mabry are all recipients of the Silver Star for knowingly placing themselves in great personal risk, under fire, while attemptingto take a heavily armed subject into custody who was armed with numerous rifles and handguns.

Sgt. Brian Smyser and Senior Detective Angelo Irizarry are recipients of a Letter of Commendation for the investigation and ultimate conviction of 5 co-conspirators of the Bloodline Imperial Gang working both inside and outside the Rappahannock Regional Jail.  These gang members were charged with gang participation, inciting riots and felony assault.

Senior Detective Nick Chiappini is a recipient of a Meritorious Award forleading an investigation that led to 99 indictments spanning the distribution of schedule II narcotics, insurance fraud and involuntary manslaughter against a local doctor.

Sgt. Brian Smyser, Detective First Class Sarah Montgomery and Senior Detective Mark Steininger are recipients of a Letter of Commendation for their exemplary work on an investigation that led to 99 indictments spanning distribution of schedule II narcotics, insurance fraud and involuntary manslaughter against a local doctor.

1^st Sgt. Eric Quinn and Sgt. Chris Cameronare recipients of Meritorious Award for leading an investigation that led to the recovery of narcotics, discovery of a body and three co-defendants who were charged with distribution of narcotics and 1^st Degree Murder in a cold case that occurred in 2007.

1^st Sgt. John Hughes and 1^st Sgt. Chad Oxley are recipients of a Letter of Commendation for their outstanding efforts in solving a cold case from 2007 that led to three individuals being charged with the distribution of narcotics and 1^st Degree Murder.

Senior Detective Edgar McCullough is a recipient of a Letter of Commendation for his exemplary efforts in solving over 100 related larceny cases involving several individuals.

Master Detective Mark Steininger, Senior Detective Nick Chiappini and Detective First Class Sarah Montgomery are recipients of a Letter of Commendation for their solving in what began as a burglary but eventually led to the arrest of multiple individuals involved in a heroin distribution conspiracy.

Deputy First Class Kevin Lytle Jr. and Deputy Joshua “Bo” Truslow are recipients of a Letter of Commendation for their outstanding efforts in solving numerous larcenies while also maintaining their roles as Patrol Deputies.

1^st Sgt. Lee Peters, Deputy Bradley Cook, Deputy Rinaldy Mervil, Deputy First Class Walter O’Neal II, Officer Rusty Daymude (Aquia Harbour Police Department) and Deputy Rodney M. Stamm Jr.  are all recipients of the Meritorious Award for using CPR to save numerous citizens’ lives in separate incidents.

Deputy First Class Robert Parsons is the recipient of a Letter of Commendation for his investigation that led to the arrest of a woman charged with forgery, larceny and obtaining money under false pretenses.  These crimes occurred against an elderly woman living in a nursing home.  This was done while still maintaining his role as a Patrol Deputy.

Master Detective Mark Steininger is a recipient of a Meritorious Award for his ability to keep a high risk suspect detained and under control at the same time a large dog had bitten and attached himself to Master Detective Steininger’ s hand.

Deputy First Class Brandon Gates is a recipient of a Letter of Commendation for his ability to investigate and solve four separate larceny cases while maintaining his responsibilities as a Patrol Deputy on the road.

Master Deputy Alex Smith is a recipient of a Letter of Commendation for his exemplary work in the solving of a case involving the rape of a juvenile victim.  Master Deputy Smith’s investigation led to the identity and location of the suspect.

Detective First Class Barry Surles is a recipient of a Letter of Commendation for his work that led to the arrest and conviction of a man who had raped his step-daughter multiple times over the last 10 years.  The man’s name was fictitious and he was also wanted for the sexual assault against two other juvenile victims outside of Stafford County.

Detective Patricia Tudor is a recipient of a Letter of Commendation for her outstanding efforts that led to the ultimate conviction of a mother for one count child neglect and the grandmother for 4 counts of cruelty to children.  The convictions were for the deliberate burning of two young children’s’ hands and arms over a hot stove.

Senior Detective Michelle Gibbons is a recipient of a Letter of Commendation for her hard work, many hours and investigative expertise in solving a home invasion robbery which involved the shooting of two victims.

Detective Patricia Tudor, Detective Darrell Wells and Senior Detective Michelle Gibbons are recipients of a Letter of Commendation  for their exemplary efforts in solving a case involving the wish of a male subject to have sex with the complainant and her daughter.  Ultimately a sting was set up that brought this individual to justice before he could hurt any young child.

1^st Sgt. Robbie Grella, Sgt. Daren Volpe and Detective Kurt McBride are recipients of the Meritorious Award for the sting operation they initiated that brought to justice one of the most violent sex traffickers ever encountered in the eastern United States.  These three men also received an award from the United States Attorney’s Office – Eastern District of Virginia for this very important case.

Deputy Nick Zotos is a recipient of a Letter of Commendation for the outstanding way he handled an especially difficult incident that involved a suspect who was trying to kill himself after brutally attacking a female victim.  The suspect stabbed himself and had slit his own throat and Deputy Zoto’s efforts prevented the male suspect from dying.

1^st Sgt. Lee Peters, Master Deputy Mike Powell Senior Deputy Burton Collins, Deputy First Class Jason Forman, Deputy First Class William Johnson, Deputy First Class William O’Neal II and Deputy Bradley Cook are recipients of a Unit Citation for their overall efforts in the areas of crash prevention, occupant safety and citizen education that significantly reduced the number and severity of crashes in Stafford County.

Deputy Brandon Gates is the recipient of the Traffic Safety Award for the Patrol Unit for his work in numerous areas of traffic safety on the roads of Stafford County.

Master Deputy Mike Powell is the recipient of the Traffic Safety Award for the Traffic Safety Unit for overall excellence in traffic safety and traffic safety education.

Detective First Class Eric Chinault is a recipient of a Letter of Commendation for his investigation that ultimately prevented an upset student from bringing a gun to his private school with the intended purpose of shooting two classmates.

Mr. Neil Mayhew is the recipient of the Community Service Award for his tireless efforts and can –do- attitude as the Volunteer Leader for the Stafford County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue Team.

Mr. Randy Shockey is the recipient of the Community Service Award for his 23 year tenure as the Chairman of the Stafford Crime Solvers Board.