EVERETT — In a crowded parking lot on Merrill Creek Parkway on Jan. 10, while stunned people watched during their lunch breaks, Snohomish County sheriff’s deputy Darrell Jones fought to keep a bad situation from getting worse.
Confronted by a shotgun-toting suspect who had said he would die before returning to prison, Jones fatally shot the man and arrested the man’s girlfriend. No one else was hurt.
Jones, a member of the sheriff’s special services unit, which typically serves eviction notices, said he was just doing his job. He had been in the area, heard a radio call about a car chase, spotted the bad guy and brought a quick end to the situation.
The deputy’s “extraordinary performance under severe stress” earned him honors Tuesday at the sheriff’s office annual awards ceremony.
It was good to be recognized by his friends and co-workers, Jones, 48, said.
“I didn’t really do anything different than any other deputy or cop would have done,” he said.
About 30 awards were given to deputies, administrators in the sheriff’s office and ordinary people who went out of their way and risked their lives to help others.
On Jan. 16, Jules Butler and Art and Margie Clemente heard a teenager’s screams in the darkness from the partially frozen waters of Martha Lake. They rushed to help. Butler used a canoe to rescue Keith Dunn, then 15. The Clementes brought the shivering boy into their home and used a hair dryer to warm him up. The sheriff’s office gave Butler a meritorious service medal and the Clementes a letter of commendation.
“Their concern for the boy’s safety and recovery, and their willingness to open their home, touched many people that night,” sheriff’s spokeswoman Rebecca Hover said.
About 250 people attended the ceremony, the last for Sheriff Rick Bart who must give up the post in January because of term limits.
“This is my last awards ceremony, and I will try to make it as special as I can,” Bart said. “This is the best damn sheriff’s office in the whole country.”
Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office Awards
Retirement Awards: Sgt. Phil Nichols; deputy Bryce Siegel.
Certificates of Appreciation: Explorers Matt Tochterman, Ashley Tochterman, Matt Schlueter, Jillian Stamper and Cassandra Kaczka.
Letters of Commendation: deputies Michael Vafeados, Julie Jensen and Tim Malkow; Sgt. Robert Martin; master patrol deputies Timothy Freil and Craig White; law enforcement technicians Julie Gonshorowski and Tina Whitten; Collision Investigation Unit; Mounted Patrol Unit; law enforcement secretaries Karen Cook and Nancy Elmore; Judicial Services Unit; Art and Margie Clemente.
Certificates of Merit: Directed Patrol Unit; deputy Terry Haldeman; Sgt. Barry Ruchty; detectives James Scharf, David Heitzman, Jess Sanders and Stephen Haley; Monroe police detective Barry Hatch; Organizational Development Division; Baltazar Espinoza-Cortes.
Civilian Employee of the Year: law enforcement secretary Frances Stanton.
Reserve Deputy of the Year: deputy Kenneth Shefveland.
Joseph W. Ward Award — Detective of the Year: detective Joseph Beard.
Sgt. John Taylor Award — Deputy of the Year: deputy Martin Weinbaum.
Meritorious Service Medals: deputy Darrell Jones; Jonathan Romig;Ruben Estrada; Michael Rochester; Jules Butlerand Jeffrey Lackenbauer.
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