east montgomery county improvement district officer of the year awards

Monday night law enforcement officers from around East Montgomery County attended the annual Law Enforcement Appreciation Dinner held by the East Montgomery County Improvement District.

Ten Officers were recognized, they were Montgomery County Precinct 4 Deputy Jesse Bulinger. Bullinger was chosen due to his outstanding performance while on patrol. He has set the bar very high for his fellow officers and has done so by leading with either arrests or citations and carrying the title of “Top Cop” for the past several months within the department. Deputy Bullinger is not only a proactive patrol officer, but he also carries a large civil service responsibility that has to be completed before his patrol duties.

While on patrol, he made a traffic stop on Loop 494 near FM 1314 that led to the arrest of two male subjects. They had just been involved in a large copper theft from a residence. Deputy Bullinger was able to link his suspects to an incoming dispatchd call regarding the theft of copper. By working with another agency and proactively patrolling East Montgomery County, he was able to stop, detain and identify these subjects due to their traffic infraction and recognize that they were involved in criminal activity. The case was opened and closed due to Deputy Bullinger’s hard work and willingness to coordinate and work with others.

Detective Steve Mullis of the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office was assigned as the lead investigator of a burglary of a business. The burglary had occurred overnight with a pickup truck, trailer and approximately 20,000 pounds of brass fittings stolen. The surveillance video showed two men wearing camouflage and masks. After an exhaustive yearlong investigation, Detective Mullis was able to bring chargesagainst 9 individuals for charges ranging from burglary to arson. Detective Mullis was also able to recover approximately 18,000 pounds of brass fittings, He was able to track down the brass locally as well as in Harris County and onboard a cargo ship sitting in the Port of Los Angeles, California.

In December 30, 2011, Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Robert Layman witnessed a burglary in progress in the Porter Wal-Mart.He pursued the thieves as they fled in a vehicle, eventually capturing them south of Humble with the assistance of the Humble Police Department and Deputy Jeff Durrenberger who is with the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office also.

On November 7, 2012, Judge Kathleen Hamilton handed down a sentence totaling forty-years against the driver of the vehicle, citing his past history of criminal acts as well as blatant disregard for public safety as he fled from Deputy Layman. His co-conspirator was sentenced to 8 years in prison for his participation in the crime.

Throughout the course of the past year, Sergeant Dimitri Jasonis has provided exemplary service to the City of Roman Forest and it’s citizens. His can-do attitude and willingness to assist is appreciated by his supervisors and coworkers alike. He is always willing and eager to assist anyone that requires it and has spent many long hours beyond his regular duty hours to ensure a case is investigated properly. He was hired as an office with Roman Forest Police Department in early 2009. He proved to be a natural leader, even without rank. He became a Field Training Instructor in 2010, promoted to Corporal in 2011, and is now Sergeant. He makes himself available to assist other officers with their cases after hours and he makes an effort to stay current with all the major cases in Roman Forest and the surrounding jurisdictions. Sergeant Jasonis’ talents and efforts are witnessed with his drive to accomplish what he started, no matter how much time it will take. He goes above and beyond his normal assigned duties and sets a positive example for all. Along with his supervisory duties, Sergeant Jasonis is the department leader in all areas of measured productivity as well as in the history of the department. In 2012, he was the primary officer on over 80 cases, primarily felony and drug cases as well as assisting officers with many more.

Officer Balthazar has been with the Patton Village Police Department for a year and a half. He is assigned to the Motorcycle Traffic Division. He has shown true professionalism throughout his career. Officer Balthazar performs his duties with integrity and a caring attitude whenever an assignment is given. It is this kind of Police Officer that every department would be proud to have. Chief Cunningham says that it gives him great joy and appreciation to present Patton Village Officer of the Year.

There is not one particular incident but too many to mention as to why Lieutenant. John F. Mays was nominated for this award. Lt. Mays joined the Splendora ISD Police Department in 2007 after retiring as Chief of Police for the City of Splendora and since that time, he has been nothing but an asset to our department. According to Chief of Police, Dennis Doerge, John is his right hand so to speak in the operations of their department and is always ready to assist with anything or with any request that is asked of him. Lieutenant Mays attention to detail and his commitment and dedication to the safety and security of the students, staff and community of Splendora ISD makes it very easy to nominate him for this years award as Officer of the Year for Splendora ISD. The Chief said, John would always be a trusted friend and colleague.

Officer Rodriguez began her Law Enforcement career with the Splendora Police Department in 2010. Upon successful completion of her training program, she quickly began to make her mark in the community. She maintains a professional demeanor even in the most chaotic of situations. Her attention to detail and investigative thoroughness played an important role this past year on two separate traffic stops. One resulted in the identification of a freshly stolen vehicle that had not yet been reported by the owner. In the other instance she was able to provide information to investigators that resulted in the successful identification of a suspect involved in copper wire theft. Lori maintains a positive influence in the community by listening and interacting with the community she serves and even on the toughest of days a smile can always be seen on her face according to Splendora Police Chief Alex Hadrych.

Sergeant Robert Meager has been an officer with the Woodbranch Police Department since November 2008. He came to the department with over 22 years of active police service. Over the past year, Sergeant Meager was promoted to his current rank and has attained his TCLOESE Instructors certification. He is a positive role model, mentor and  a Field Training Officer for newly hired officers. As a Field Training Officer, Sergeant Meager has shown the ability to convey his experience, knowledge and training onto new officer, which have enabled them to become productive members of the department. Sergeant Meager remains an active and integral part of the successful operations of the Woodbranch Police Department.

As we are all aware, our roadways are plagued with intoxicated drivers. These selfish individuals too often take the lives of our neighbors, coworkers, friends and family in motor vehicle crashes. Trooper Derek Peterson, who has only worked for the Texas Department of Public Safety for just over a year, has dedicated himself to make our community safer with a relentless pursuit of these individuals. Trooper Peterson routinely sacrifices time with his family by altering his schedule to work extended shifts, on his days off and early morning hours when intoxicated drivers are at their worse. As a result of Trooper Peterson’s sacrifices during 2012, he apprehended 207 intoxicated drivers. He accomplished this while still stopping over a thousand vehicles for traffic violations and conducting over one hundred motor vehicle accidents. This is an unheard of feat within the Department of Public Safety which is known for its success in apprehending intoxicated drivers. This exceptional achievement can be attributed to Trooper Peterson’s unsurpassed work ethic and desire to keep his community safe.

As a new member of the Texas Department of Public Safety, Trooper Sullivan has learned his position extremely fast. His tremendous work ethic and desire to make a difference has allowed him to achieve success not commonly seen with his tenure. He grew up in the local community and saw firsthand how drugs and alcohol can so easily destroy the things we cherish. He has made it his personal mission to take as many criminals and intoxicated drivers off the streets as possible. During 2012 he took one hundred and sixty five criminals out of our neighborhoods and forty one intoxicated drivers off our roadways. These cases included substantial drug seizures, gang members, weapon cases and the arrest of intoxicated drivers whose crashes caused serious injuries to innocent victims. Trooper Sullivan’s dedication has made our community a safer place and with no plans of slowing down, he will continue to do so for many years to come.