Sheriff presents update of first 100 days

At last week’s April 14 Commissioners’ Court meeting, Lavaca County Sheriff Steven Greenwell presented an update on his first 100 days in office.

Greenwell, whose duties as sheriff began in January, highlighted the progress of his administration and focused on four areas including the LCSO staff, the jail, the dispatch team and security of the courts.

Staff

Greenwell spoke of the work the department’s patrol officers and the criminal investigation division has been undertaking during the first three and half months.

“One of our main focuses is to keep our roadways and communities safe,” Greenwell said. “We believe we can do that by enforcing our traffic laws and making traffic stops. Our belief is that by focusing on the small things often eliminates the need to focus on the larger things.”

Greenwell presented facts that included for the last 100 days, patrol deputies have conducted 620 traffic stops.

Those stops resulted in seven arrests for various violations of criminal law of which four were felony arrests and three were misdemeanors.

Greenwell said one of the felony arrests resulted in the seizure of 2.2 pounds of methamphetamines and the subject was transferred and turned over to Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) for federal prosecution.

Greenwell said because of the 620 vehicle stops, 24 illegal aliens were identified and turned over and many were found have been previously deported from the United States with many on multiple occasions.

“Last week alone, a driver who had been stopped was identified as a Mexican national, had been deported twice and was wanted on two counts of sexual assault of a minor in Tennessee,” Greenwell said. “They agreed to extradite him. In fact, he was working and hanging out in our area to avoid prosecution.”

In addition, Greenwell said the LCSO has been working in conjunction with other law enforcement agencies conducting multiple drug trafficking investigations throughout Lavaca County.

Greenwell said these investigations resulted in the execution of seven search warrants in the arrest of eight persons on felony drug charges, various narcotics and weapons.

“We have, and will continue to target drug traffickers throughout the county,” Greenwell said. “I have made clear that my administration’s focus will be on drug related offenses.”

Greenwell told the court, studies have shown 90 to 95% of all criminal conduct has a connection to drug use and drug trafficking.

In dealing with drug trafficking Greenwell said, “You work relentlessly to identify, investigate, and arrest to convict them. The Lavaca County Sheriff’s Office will work corroboratively with municipal police departments, the county attorney’s office, and the United States Attorney’s office. We lean heavily on the resources provided from Operation Lone Star Task Force, West Side Task Force, ICE and HSI to successfully target and arrest drug traffickers and drug smugglers in Lavaca County.”

Jail

Greenwell reported on the Lavaca County jail saying the maximum jail capacity is 48 and for the last 100 days the average prisoner population has been 38 inmates.

Greenwell said as of Monday morning (April 14), the jail population is 41 inmates, of which 31 have been arrested or convicted of felony level crimes.

“I expect that our average daily population will continue to rise as our programs and staff come online and we move into the summer months,” Greenwell said. “Last week, or so, we’ve been at maximum capacity and beyond.”

Dispatch

Regarding the LCSO dispatch team, Greenwell said they have eight dispatchers and one supervisory dispatcher.

“I am happy to say we’re fully staffed at dispatch,” Greenwell said. “We have worked hard in making sure our employees are comfortable behind their consoles. Dispatchers are truly the first of the first responders.”

Greenwell informed the court of stories he’s witnessed how the department’s dispatchers have to multi-task answering to several calls at a time.

In one particular incident, Greenwell said the dispatcher had to deal with two different rollover accidents at different locations as well as a grass fire and a domestic violence issue.

“She was handling it all like a champ,” Greenwell said. “She had a phone in one ear, while typing instructions onto a computer and meanwhile having communications between fire responders and EMS come through multiple speakers at the same time. She never once got frazzled. She never once became frantic or distressed. I was beyond impressed. They (dispatchers) all do a fantastic job day in and day out. I’m very proud of the work they do.”

Courtroom security

“We’ve copied the model used by many courts, counties and courtrooms,” Greenwell said. “We now have a team dedicated solely to the safety and security of our courts, our courtrooms, and our county buildings where most of our county employees work.”

Greenwell said the courtroom security team is comprised of part-time deputies and sheriff deputies who function as court baliffs and courthouse security.

“I believe our courtrooms are now more orderly and safer,” Greenwell said. “Our command staff and patrol deputies can now provide and focus on the services to the county they are paid and equipped to provide.”