SHERIFF’S OFFICE
EMPLOYEES OF THE
QUARTER HONORED
Determined
seems to be the key
word to describe the
men and women of the
Volusia County
Sheriff’s Office who
earned the honor of
being named
Employees of the 3rd
Quarter of 2009
Tuesday morning.
Every one of them
demonstrated a
passion for their
jobs, including an
investigator who
made a high profile
sexual battery
arrest and a deputy
whose relentless
drive solved several
crimes in a short
timeframe. Also
getting awards from
Sheriff Ben Johnson
at the Deputy
Stephen Saboda
Training Center in
Daytona Beach were a
records department
office assistant, a
telecommunicator,
and a Citizen
Observer Program
volunteer.
Deputy of the
quarter David King’s
proactive work ethic
and keen observation
skills led to an
impressive record of
case closures and
arrests in recent
months. On two
separate occasions
the DeLand area
patrol deputy
spotted vehicles
that were believed
to be involved in
recent crimes and he
stopped them and
made successful
arrests that wrapped
up a strong arm
robbery case and an
armed burglary case.
Deputy King’s
supervisor, Sgt.
Brian Nardiello,
commended him for
clearly performing
above the call of
duty when he
thoroughly
investigated a
burglary call to
include obtaining
video surveillance
and collecting
records of purchases
made with a stolen
credit card. This
hard work led to the
suspect’s capture.
It was then
discovered that the
suspect had
committed other
crimes, which then
resulted in solving
five additional
burglaries and
recovering stolen
property.
Winning a quarterly
aware is quite a
feat, said Sheriff
Johnson. “These are
decided by their
peers. You have a
lot of competition.
This is something
that’s earned.”
There is never any
guarantee that a
routine
investigation is
what it seems.
Investigator Richard
Fortin discovered
that when a missing
juvenile case turned
into a sexual
battery
investigation. The
juvenile had been
gone for about two
months and during
this time
investigator Fortin
spoke almost daily
with the suspect,
developing a rapport
and gathering
potentially
incriminating
statements
concerning the sex
crimes. Fortin’s
determination
finally resulted in
a high-profile
arrest with a lot of
media interest and
led to several other
victims being
identified.
Additionally, Fortin
solved a strongarm
robbery case at an
Ormond Beach motel,
and closed out more
than 20 car breaks
and two residential
burglaries through a
long series of
interviews and
determined
investigative work.
The investigator of
the quarter is
assigned to the
District 3 office
headquartered in
Holly Hill and is
also a Crime Scene
Investigator.
“I’m real proud of
the job you do,”
said Sheriff
Johnson. “I’m proud
to present this to
you.”
Employee of the
Quarter honors went
to office assistant
Stephanie Baker, who
works in the records
department. When she
finishes her primary
responsibility of
processing report
requests from the
State Attorney’s
Office, she keeps
busy helping her
co-workers and
filling in wherever
needed. No matter
how tedious or
undesirable any
given task might be,
Baker takes it on
without complaint
and always gets the
job done with
professionalism. Her
peers know that they
can turn to her when
questions or
problems arise.
Baker is known for
being knowledgeable
and fast yet
thorough.
“What a great job,”
said Sheriff
Johnson. “We really
appreciate it. I
want to thank you
for the job you’ve
done.”
Telecommunicator of
the quarter honors
went to Kelley Eisen,
who was rewarded for
her hard work and
devotion to
developing an
outstanding training
and recruitment
program for
telecommunicators
that is now
considered as a
model program by
other agencies and
even the state
level. She updated
the training area
into a modern
learning atmosphere
that gives trainees
a true taste of what
it will be like to
do the actual work
using the same
equipment
experienced
telecommunicators
handle. This has
resulted in new
employees being
better prepared to
perform to the best
of their abilities
than ever before.
Eisen expanded the
training program for
the first time to
new deputies,
allowing them to see
firsthand during
their basic training
what goes on in a
communications
center.
Volunteer of the
quarter Andy Gygi
gives his time to
the investigative
unit at the district
office headquartered
in New Smyrna Beach.
He is considered an
invaluable
contributor as he
assists with mapping
burglary trends and
reviewing reports.
He also helps check
pawn shop databases
to look for possible
stolen property, and
follows up with
victims of property
crimes by phone to
ensure no new
details or
investigative leads
have developed. Gygi
also serves in the
Citizen Observer
Program and his
sharp eyes led to
the discovery of a
break-in at a local
cell phone tower
site.
