Moore County Sheriff, Neil Godfrey, held his quarterly Awards and Promotions Ceremony recognizing Promotions, Life Saving Awards and Quarterly Award Winners.
Quarterly Award Winners are nominated by their peers and selected by a Board of Moore County Citizens. “Having our citizens select our award winners is extremely important,” said Sheriff Neil Godfrey. “It provides our citizens first-hand knowledge of the great work our Sheriff’s Office is doing, and it ensures objectivity in the selections. I am always humbled and appreciative to watch our personnel grow and the distinguished service they provide our citizens.”
Promotions
Corporal
John Osmar and Francine Parsons were promoted to the rank of Corporal both serving in the Detention Center.
Sergeant
Michael Gillespie was promoted to the rank of Sergeant serving in the Detention Center.
Tyler Cheek was promoted to the rank of Detective Sergeant with the Narcotics Division.
First Sergeant
Jacob Schlumpf was promoted to the rank of First Sergeant serving in the Detention Center.
Lieutenant
Richard Morgan was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant with the Narcotics Division.
Captain
Captain Tim Cameron was promoted to the rank of Captain over the Narcotics Division.
Life Saver Awards
Detective Sergeant Anthony Guerra and Lieutenant Brock Holder
Moore County Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to the Skymart fuel station in Cameron in reference of a “CPR in progress” call, stemming from an overdose. Detective Sergeants Holder and Guerra immediately responded and arrived to see bystanders performing CPR on a 31 year old Lee County female. According to the victim’s boyfriend, the female had just “shot up with heroin.”
Defaulting to their training, Detectives Holder and Guerra sprang into action, and Detective Guerra immediately administered a Narcan injection. The Narcan instantly reversed the victim’s symptoms granting the female a new lease on life.
Narcan is the brand name of the medical drug Naloxone, which essentially serves as an antidote to an opioid overdose. When someone takes too much of an opioid (Heroin), their breathing slows down and can stop completely.
Narcan blocks the effects of opioids and reverses overdose symptoms. It works on overdoses of heroin and prescription painkillers such as oxycodone, hydrocodone, and morphine.
Quarterly Award Winners
Administrative Specialist
Administrative Specialist of the quarter is Tori Hardy. Tori has been with at the department for a few short months but has been a tremendous asset. She came to the Moore County Sheriff’s Office with dispatch experience from another agency and quickly adapted to the procedures.
Tori has excelled! She constantly goes above and beyond with all the calls she handles or any other assigned task. Tori’s calming voice always puts people at ease during their worse of days.
Tori is an absolute team player, and she is always more than willing to step-up to cover shift duty. She devotes 100% of her attention to the deputies and callers.
Despite her devotion to her profession, she sets the example for all by making time to excel as a full-time student, earning her degree in Criminal Justice. The department is very fortunate to have Tori, and the department cannot think of anyone more deserving for this award. It is for these and many more reasons why Tori Hardy is the Moore County Sheriff’s Office Administrative Specialist of the Quarter.
Detention Officer
Detention Officer of the quarter is Officer Byron Levario. Officer Levario consistently demonstrates an outstanding work ethic. Prior to his employment with the Moore County Sheriff’s Office, Officer Levario attended DOCC [Detention Officer Certification Course] on his own; most officers are sent by their agency.
He did this with the intent of being a part of the Sheriff’s Office family. He was successful in completing DOCC, attended in-service on his own and was pepper sprayed and Tased to receive his certifications.
Since working at the Detention Center, his strong work ethic has continued. He helps other shifts by working extra hours, is a team player and displays good leadership skills. It is for these and many more reasons why Byron Levario is the Moore County Sheriff’s Office Detention Officer of the Quarter.
Patrol
Patrol Deputy of the quarter is Deputy Roy “Bear” Edmisten who began working for the Moore County Sheriff’s Office over 26 years ago.
In his 26+ years of service, Deputy Edmisten has provided un-daunting service to the Moore County Sheriff’s Office with dedication and commitment to success. These traits have made him an outstanding asset and through his actions, Deputy Edmisten has gained the respect of his peers as well as the leadership.
Deputy Edmisten exemplifies self-less service by stepping forward and giving his time to assist other shifts with personnel shortages. He has never complained about coming in on his off days to help.
He never says no and never has an excuse as to why he can’t help out. Bear simply says, “Where do you need me.” Deputy Edmisten routinely recognizes when his help is needed calling the shift supervisor to inform him,” I’ll be staying out until things calm down.”
He takes ownership of his patrol area and takes pride in knowing that his zone is his responsibility. Deputy Edmisten takes the time to learn the citizens in his zone and provides extra attention to those areas where additional attention is required.
Deputy Edmisten is extremely proactive and is actively engaged from the time he checks on duty until the time he checks off. His work ethic is contagious and actually motivates the entire shift.
He takes the time to not only pursue criminal offenders and enforce law, but he also takes the time to build relationships with the citizens within the county. He is never too busy to listen to what citizens have to say and address their needs.
Lastly, Deputy Edmisten is best known as “Bear.” Everybody in his zone knows Bear. Every Deputy that has worked with Bear has responded to a call, that when he arrives on scene, tensions settle and people respond positively. It is for these and many more reasons why Deputy Roy “Bear” Edmisten is the Moore County Sheriff’s Office Patrol Deputy of the Quarter.
Detective
Detective of the quarter is Detective Sergeant Jesse Bryan Stubbs. Jesse began his career with the Moore County Sheriff’s Office in March of 2007.
Jesse was assigned to patrol and served as a patrol deputy. While working as a patrol deputy, Jesse became a K-9 handler. Jesse was very passionate about getting drugs off the street and his K-9 partner “Reno” assisted him in many cases.
Jesse was promoted to Detective Sergeant in the Narcotics Unit in April of 2010. Jesse is currently assigned to the Narcotics Unit. Jesse serves the unit as Prescription Pill Diversion Investigator. Jesse is also a devoted husband and father when he’s not busy devoting his time to the citizens of Moore County.
During his time with the Narcotics Department, he has worked tirelessly to keep drugs off the streets of Moore County. One of our biggest drug problems on the streets today is prescription pill abuse.
During the last five years, Jesse has worked in the Narcotics Division as a prescription pill diversion investigator. He works closely with local pharmacies, doctor’s offices, DEA, and State Bureau of Investigation to prevent prescription medication from getting into the wrong hands. Prescription pill related cases make up 75% of the cases the department investigates within the Narcotics unit.
When Jesse is not busy working pill diversion cases, he spends most of his time giving presentations to doctors, nurses, and the general public to better educate them on prescription pill abuse, fraudulent prescriptions, and doctor shopping. Jesse also works closely with Drug Free Moore County and assists them in speaking on drug awareness.
The opioid epidemic ravaging the United States is taking a grim and growing toll. The latest numbers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that 64,070 people died from drug overdoses in 2017. That’s a 21 percent increase over the year before.
Approximately three-fourths of all drug overdose deaths are now caused by opioids. Opioids are a class of drugs that includes prescription painkillers as well as heroin and potent synthetic versions like fentanyl. More Americans died from drug overdoses in 2016 than the number of American lives lost in the entirety of the Vietnam War, which totaled 58,200.
Jesse Bryan Stubbs is a great asset to the Moore County Sheriff’s Office and plays a strong role in keeping the streets of Moore County Drug Free. It is for these and many more reasons why Jesse Stubbs is the Moore County Sheriff’s Office Detective Sergeant of the Quarter.
contributed