From 1995 - 2008, as a Patrol Deputy and a Supervising Patrol Deputy:

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• Transitioned from military life in the U.S. Army to Law Enforcement, working as a Municipal Officer and Deputy Sheriff. Establishing myself and my career, mastering different types of calls for service, patrol and investigation techniques.

• Promoted to Corporal over Patrol Division in 1998

• Promoted to Sergeant over Patrol Division in 1999

• Promoted to Lieutenant over Patrol Division in 2005

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During my service on the road as a Patrol Deputy:

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• Conducted over 1,200 Drug Related Investigation/Arrests.

• Lead Investigator or Assisted in the investigation of more than 500 Death Scenes.

• Responded to more than 8,000 calls for service.

• Lead Investigator or Assisted in the investigation of more than 4,000 Property Crimes.

• In 1997, I attended specialized training and became a member of the Mid-Missouri Major Case Squad. After doing so, I was deployed as part of a multi-agency team to assist in the investigation of several homicides in Mid-Missouri.

• November 16, 2004, I was deployed to Mexico, Missouri, to assist in the investigation of the murder of Gus Karellas who was the owner of G&D Steakhouse. During the investigation, I identified and interviewed two key witnesses that played an important role in putting those responsible behind bars.

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2008–Present (2020): Administration:

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I would like to start by saying, one of the biggest challenges I have faced since announcing my bid for Sheriff, has been writing about myself. I am used to writing about the good things the staff has accomplished. I’ve always been a “Nose to the Grindstone” type of guy, when I see a problem or issue, I switch to the mindset of lets fix it and move on to the next problem or issue. Individualism is not the general rule when working in Administration. Without my TEAM, I myself would not have made it to where I am today. Without my TEAM, many of my accomplishments would not have been accomplished had I not had a hard working and dedicated TEAM.

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2008-2017: Served as Captain and took on the responsibility of overseeing the Jail Division, Court Division, and assignments to Major Crimes in Montgomery County. During this time:

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• Sought out other departments whose jails were overcrowded and contracted for inmate housing for eight other agencies. In doing so, January 1, 2008 through December 31, 2016, we brought in nearly 1.5 million dollars for the counties general revenue.

• 12 years of fostered relationships from the St. Louis Field Office to the Chicago Field Office of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) for the housing of Immigration Detainees. Again, in doing so, January 1, 2008 through December 31, 2016, we brought in nearly 7.5 million dollars for the counties general revenue.

• Led my team through the 17+ contracted inspections required by ICE. These inspections consist of a team of 4-5 inspectors from across the United States and it basically encompasses spending your entire week going through every aspect of the Jail. I alone, cannot take credit for this achievement because all the staff works very hard in preparation for these inspections.

• Fiscally Responsible: Since entering Administration and assigned to assist in the management of the multi-million dollar budget, the Sheriff’s Office has returned funds back to the General Revenue, annually.

• Continually negotiated the four (4) contracted services and went out for bid on contracted services, as they expired, in order to cut costs.

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Staying in compliance with the National Detention Standards in order to pass the ICE Inspections, is not an easy task. Reason being, the National Detention Standards are based on large scale detention style facilities such as your state and federal prisons which are standardized and fully equipped. County Jails are not generally built to this standard mostly due to the exorbitant costs involved in building, staffing, and running such a complex.

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Over the years I had spoken with many facilities who were either wanting to house ICE Detainees or were currently housing ICE Detainees and were having problems with being in compliance with the Performance Base National Detention Standards required by ICE. Having endured many of these inspections, I made it my goal to write a new Policy and Procedure that was in compliance with the standards but, worded as such that it would work for a smaller county jail.

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• July of 2015: I completed the new digital, full-featured Montgomery County Jail Policy and Procedure Manual, which was completely interactive, linking policies with specific forms used within the jail. This made maneuvering within the digital policy manual easier and faster for staff. This manual is currently used as a model for numerous jails throughout the states.

• August of 2015: The Jail Facility underwent a week long contracted inspection and completed it with “NO” deficiencies. It was understood that we were the first Jail attached to the Chicago Field Office to obtain a no deficiency inspection. Chicago Field Office oversees 13 offices throughout 6 states: Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, Missouri, Kansas and Kentucky. Again, I alone, cannot take credit for this achievement, we have a great team that works very hard in preparation for these inspections.

• 2015: Executed a complete evacuation of the Jail Facility due to a problem with a sewer line that flooded the jail. This was the first ever complete evacuation of the jail facility where all inmates were moved to another facility. Upon realizing the flood, I quickly made arrangements for an organized and controlled removal of all inmates who were transported to the Lincoln County Jail for housing while repairs and clean-up were completed. This was a huge accomplishment for our team. I would also like to note, that due to the relationships I had cultivated with other agencies, Lincoln County did not charge Montgomery County one cent for their assistance in housing, additional transport staff, or use of vehicles.

• 2015: Requested and received funding to update electronic slider doors, installed new overflow bunks, installed new touch screen control system with graphic user interface customized specifically for our facility to operate 60 doors, 55 cameras, 88 intercoms, lights, and televisions throughout the facility. This was every bit of a two week process overseeing the vendor(s) on site, working with their schedule, coordinating staff for manual operation of doors, securing inmates for door repairs, etc.

• 2015: Requested and received funding for new bio-metric time keeping system that reduced paper work and increased employee accountability, resulting in a reduction of overall cost.

• 2016: Requested and received Federal Funding to replace all Cameras and Digital Recording Devices throughout the Courthouse and Jail.

• 2016: Took on the task of managing the replacement of the entire Fire Control Alarm System throughout the Jail Facility and the Courthouse.

• March 8, 2016: Murder of Randy Nordman: One (1) of four (4) officers that responded and made entry into the Nordman’s residence to find that Mr. Randy Nordman had been murdered by who was later identified as Pablo Serrano-Vitorino. By order of the Sheriff, I assumed command, secured the scene, made contact with all the appropriate responding agencies to assist in the investigation and manhunt that followed. Upon the arrival of State Investigators I was asked to assume a position in the Missouri State Highway Patrol Incident Command Center and assist in the organized search for the suspect who was later apprehended.

• 2016: Requested and received funds to install a new PolyCom video court system in the Jail. By doing so, this saved on calling officers in to assist in inmate escorts to the Courtroom which in turn cut cost considerably in officer’s overtime.

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January 1, 2017 - Present (2020): Promoted to Chief Deputy (Undersheriff) and assumed second in overall command next to the Sheriff.

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• January 2017: Sheriff Schoo and I agreed on several goals that we felt would move the Sheriff’s Office forward and best serve the communities in Montgomery County. One of those goals, that I ran with, was replacing our current fleet of front wheel drive vehicles with all-wheel drive vehicles. During the winter it was very difficult to maneuver around the county and the back road when responding to calls with our current fleet. As of December of 2019, all our patrol deputies are driving AWD vehicles. We had to be very creative in coming up with the funds to make this happen. We requested individual bids for the vehicles, the emergency equipment, and the labor to install the equipment. We reached out to our out-of-state resources and purchased 3 used, low mileage vehicles, at a very low price. Alone, we saved over $30,000.00 on the emergency equipment and labor to install the equipment. This also drastically cut cost on the vehicle maintenance portion of our budget.

• June 9, 2017: Assigned to assist MSHP Division of Drug and Crime Control with the investigation into the Murder of Benjamin Renick on June 8, 2017.

• 2017: Secured grant to purchase a new Live Scan Fingerprint Booking Station and to pay the first year’s subscription.

• 2018: Secured grant to reimburse the last two years of the Live Scan Fingerprint Stations Maintenance Contract.

• January 2019: Met with the Chicago ICE Field Office Director and the St. Louis ICE Field Office Director to discuss increasing the number of housed detainees. We were able to agree on an increase in the number of detainees housed which in turn increased revenue nearly $100,000.00 for the Year 2019.

• February 2019: Oversaw and coordinated the nearly $200,000.00, four (4) month restoration project of the Jail and Courthouse due to a fire in the Jail that caused smoke damage throughout the Jail, Sheriff’s Office, and portions of the Courthouse.

• August 2019: Requested and was approved to send 2 deputies to be part of the Cyber Crimes Task force at zero cost to the county. The Cyber Crime Task Force lab conducts forensic analysis of media suspected to contain evidence of a variety of possible forms of criminal activity. The average case contains numerous computers, cell phones or other forms of media to be examined, and takes approximately 42 hours to analyze. The Task Force also conducts active investigations into illegal activity of individuals who prey on children via the internet.

• January 2020: Earlier this year we applied for an increase in board bill for the housing of ICE detainees. This is a long process but, we feel it will be approved. If my calculations are correct, it will be close to a $130,000.00 increase in revenue from ICE for the Year 2021.

• Currently 2020: With the assistance of Donna Viehmann, the Montgomery County’s EOC Administrative Assistant, we are working on an ongoing FEMA Public Assistance Program. This Program will reimburse the Sheriff’s Office 75% of all eligible purchased equipment or wages used for protective measures taken to respond to the COVID-19 emergency.