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345 SE 5th, Madras, OR 97741 | 541.475.2275
The Jefferson County Commission will begin consideration of sheriff candidates this week, when Sheriff Jack Jones enters a plea to official misconduct on Feb. 3.
"This will result in a conviction, and as a result of this conviction, Sheriff Jones will be resigning his elected office," said Ed Sites, attorney for Jones, in an e-mail statement Jan. 28.
Sites noted that Jones, who has been on administrative leave from his position since an investigation by the Oregon Department of Justice, will surrender his peace officer certification at that time.
The plea is in connection to an incident Oct. 23, 2009, when Jones responded to his son's residence, where his wife Jerilynn had been babysitting their 2-year-old grandson. When their daughter-in-law and her three friends returned to the house and picked up the child to take him to Redmond, Sites noted, Jerilynn Jones feared they had been drinking and called her husband.
After he arrived and blocked a vehicle in the driveway with his vehicle, his daughter-in-law, Jonnie Jones, called dispatch and reported, "Sheriff Jones is trying to take my baby from me and won't let me leave."
The sheriff, who was not in uniform but arrived in his official police vehicle, eventually determined that the driver was not intoxicated and returned home, but a report was forwarded to the Oregon Attorney General's Office, which launched an investigation.
Under Oregon law, an officer enforcing traffic laws must be in uniform, or conspicuously display an official identification card, which Jones said he did.
On Jan. 8, the Department of Justice issued an opinion that Jones had committed "the predicate acts for official misconduct in the first degree and coercion on Oct. 23, 2009." The DOJ offered to let him resign his office and plead guilty to official misconduct in the second degree -- a Class C misdemeanor.
The sheriff, an elected official, placed himself on administrative leave Jan. 7, and transferred authority to Undersheriff Jim Adkins.
At the County Commission's Jan. 6 meeting, the commission decided to seek applications until Jan. 26 for an interim sheriff to fill the position until the term ends in December.
The commission received applications from four candidates: Jim Adkins, Mike Throop, Brad Halvorson, and Paul Hames.
If the sheriff submits his resignation as scheduled, "At best, they would decide on (Feb. 3) when to conduct the interviews," said County Administrator Jeff Rasmussen.
Currently acting sheriff, Jim Adkins, 46, of Culver, has worked for the sheriff's office for nearly 24 years.
"I started with marine patrol in March 1986," said Adkins, who has been undersheriff since Feb. 1, 2006.
Adkins intends to run for the position in the May primary election. "It's something that I've always wanted to do," he said. "It's something I've worked my whole career for. This is my community and I grew up here."
During his career, he has also worked in corrections, dispatch and narcotics, in addition to working as a patrol deputy and patrol sergeant.
"Because I've done that, I have a working knowledge of the whole entire office and the budget," commented Adkins, who said he has the support of the office, as well as a good relationship with county commissioners and other Central Oregon sheriffs.
Mike Throop, 54, of Madras, is a former sheriff, who worked for the sheriff's office from 1984 to 1997 -- 8 1/2 years of which was as sheriff.
"I would like to be able to assist the sheriff's office for the period of time when Jack leaves to the end of the year, and a new sheriff is elected," he said. "I'm familiar with budgets and the internal workings of the sheriff's office."
Throop was laid off from his job at Bright Wood in January 2009, and is currently unemployed. However, if appointed, Throop said he wouldn't run for the position. "I don't like the politics side of it."
However, if asked by the new sheriff, he would consider staying on with the department in some capacity.
Throop is waiting for a determination from the academy about his certification. In 1997, he lost his position as sheriff when he was convicted by a jury of receiving campaign contributions under a false name, and official misconduct.
Brad Halvorson, 58, a resident of Madras since 2005, has a bachelor's degree in administration of justice from Portland State University, as well as 12 credit hours in criminology from the University of Portland, and 1,800 hours of training with the Department of Public Safety Standards and Training.
He is employed as an investigator for a Bend law firm. "Between my law enforcement experience and corrections experience and working for a law firm, I believe that the things I know, and have taught for DPSST, corrections and the Department of Justice (make me the best candidate)," he said.
Halvorson started his law enforcement career in 1973 at the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office, and has worked on organized crime insurance cases, as a corruption investigator for the governor's office, as a criminal investigator with the Department of Corrections' Inspector General's Office, and as a statewide fugitive apprehension manager for the DOC, among other posts.
While at the DOC, Halvorson taught a criminal intelligence course for the DOJ. "Those are things I think I can bring to Jefferson County," he said.
"My number one goal is the reduction of crime in Jefferson County, and I plan to do that by attacking drugs," said Halvorson, who has already filed paperwork to run for the sheriff position. "The reduction of drugs automatically means a reduction in criminal activity."
Paul Hames, 53, of Madras, is currently employed as a correctional sergeant with the DOC's professional development unit at Deer Ridge Correctional Institution, where he has worked since November 2007.
Prior to moving to Madras, Hames, who has worked in public safety for about 30 years, was a correctional officer at the State Penitentiary in Salem. He started his career in 1974 as a part-time deputy at the Ozaukee County Sheriff's Department in Port Washington, Wis., and has also worked as a village marshal in Fredonia, Wis., deputy with the Village of Grafton, Wis., and police officer and communication training officer with the Howard County Police Department in Maryland.
At Deer Ridge, Hames has worked with local training officials to set up mutually beneficial training -- such as drug seminars.
"I think that it would be an asset to the sheriff's office to have someone come in with a fresh set of eyes from a perspective of working with a long history of working with a variety of public venues," he said.
If selected, Hames said he would probably run for office.
Jones' term would have expired on Dec. 31. Candidates must be 21 years of age, and residents of the county for at least one year, with at least four years of law enforcement experience, or two years, plus two years of post-high school education. The sheriff position pays $89,470 per year.
