Tell me a little about yourself.
I am a 20-year veteran in Law Enforcement. I have always been passionate about law enforcement and helping the citizens. I have always believed there is value in teaching new and not so new deputies the things I’ve learned throughout my career so they can be successful and prosper. I am an honest person who will treat people fairly no matter what the situation is. Above all of this, I am a father, a husband and best of all, a Papa to my grandkids.
What brought you to Eureka and when did you move here?
I was contacted by former Eureka County Sheriff’s Office, Lieutenant Kilgore, advising they had positions within the Eureka County Sheriff’s office and he would like me to come to work with him. In May of 2023 my wife and I both moved to Eureka, and began working as deputies of the Eureka County Sheriff’s office.
Why do you want to be Sheriff of Eureka County?
I have made Eureka my home and I care what happens in it as well as to its citizens. I was asked by many people within the Eureka County Sheriff’s Office and citizens of both Eureka and Cresent Valley, to run for Sheriff due to issues they have seen since the appointment of the current sheriff. This last year we have lost many things within the sheriff’s office. The K9 program was dismantled, the Search and Rescue was dismantled and we are down to one patrol deputy in Eureka, two in Cresent Valley.
What qualifications and experiences have prepared you to serve as sheriff?
My 20 years of experience include:
*Third in command for Burning Man for several years, supervising all aspects from operations, to budget, to supervised specialized investigation units.
*Conducted numerous roadside interviews, suspect & victim interviews, written & executed countless search warrants, seized countless amounts of narcotics.
*Conducted internal, street crime, property crime, person crime, narcotics, & homicide investigations. Numerous, successful prosecutions involving narcotics & homicide.
*For Eureka I secured a free, trained canine at no cost to the county. Promoted to detective, assigned to NDI in Ely, background investigations for new hires. Staffed the department to near full staffing levels.
*Supervision Officer, written policy, procedures, security procedures, implemented other programs. Pre & post-trial offender supervision.
What do you believe are the most controversial issues within the department and how will you address them?
a). ECSO has lost 15 employees in the last 2 years. I will consider re-hiring personnel who have quit if they’re still interested in coming back. I will implement recruiting strategies I utilized while I was conducting backgrounds at ECSO, in order to get staffing numbers back up.
b). Past and present employees have expressed their concern of the treatment of the employees at the Sheriff’s Office. I will have a true open-door policy and welcome various ideas from staff that will make the work environment better and return to a true “blue family” environment.
c). While listening to citizens, deputies, dispatchers and observing, there seems to be a lack of transparency, honesty, and integrity at the sheriff’s office. I will be open and honest with the citizens of Eureka and my employees. Sometimes honesty isn’t always digested well but it’s necessary and pairs with integrity. Integrity is a must in law enforcement and should also be an attribute with any person.
What are three top issues facing law enforcement in Eureka and what is your plan to address them?
a). I believe drugs and alcohol are a real issue in Eureka County. Getting more deputies on the road and getting them real training in drug and alcohol crime is the first key to tackling this issue. I want to work within the schools to educate and inform students on the dangers and repercussions of choosing a life with drugs and alcohol. I want to work with the DA’s Office and Justice Court to re-visit and implement Drug Court and supervision in our county as well as work with the local AA and NA groups in our county.
b.) Traffic is a real issue throughout Eureka County. My plan for tackling this issue is to have the deputies we have, conduct more traffic enforcement throughout the county and daily
c). I believe the community’s safety and security, with the increased population in the county, should be a concern for everyone, especially a sheriff’s office with the limited resources it has at this time. I will work fast and efficiently to get the sheriff’s office staffing numbers up to where they should be.
Relationships are an important part of life in general, but relationships in law enforcement gets really tricky, especially in small communities. How do you feel you will navigate relationships with the community, the county, and people inside the department, while still doing your job as Sheriff?
I am an honest and straight forward individual. Like I said before, people won’t always like what I have to say but it will truthful, delivered with respect, and be factual. I have always explained what is going on and why I am doing what I’m doing such as an arrest or charging them with a crime. It’s always been about how you treat people and your honesty with them. Conversations and respect get results. I think continuing this type of behavior is key to having healthy and trusting relationships with the citizens, employees, and local government.
Is there anything you would like to add that wasn’t covered in the questions?
I can talk about myself all day but I think the citizens should talk to people who know me and people I’ve arrested, supervised through the court or have talked to in general. The truth lies in their honest opinion about who I am and what I stand for. I really want the citizens to ask others who know about me, whether it be on social media or in person, in order to verify anything I’ve said in this interview.
