Excellence In Police Work!

“This memo is to recognize Sgt. Calvin McGriff, Detective Jorge Carvajal and Officer Chris Shortell on their outstanding dedicated police work.

On October 28,2018 an auto burglary occurred at Loggerhead Park where credit cards and an expensive, and very sentimental heirloom wedding ring was stolen. At the time of the report there were no suspects or investigative leads in the case and the wedding ring was presumed never to be recovered again leaving the victim devastated by the loss.

On November 4, 2018 Sgt. McGriff was on patrol in the area of Loggerhead Park in the same area where the burglary had previous occurred. Because of Sgt. McGriff’s dedication and experience he knew that the suspects often return to the same area later to commit another burglary as part of their M.O. On November 4th his professional instincts were correct. He observed three subjects that were acting suspicious. Based on his training and experience he knew he had to investigate further and upon attempting contact with the subjects they began to disperse quickly. Sgt. McGriff was able to detain two of the suspects himself and a third fled. Det. Carvajal and Officer Shortell hearing the need for assistance responded immediately and used their experience to track and locate the third suspect at the CVS parking lot. Ultimately all three subjects were prevented from committing additional crimes and identified that day by completing Field Interview Reports. Though no charges were filed that day the investigation continued.

Det Carvajal began checking video from stolen credit card usage by the suspects from the original auto burglary. In doing so he recognized that one of the suspects was the same subject that Sgt. McGriff spotted in the park on November 4th and identified. Det. Carvajal immediately ran with this investigative lead and not only developed probable cause for arrest of the suspect but he found the stolen wedding ring in a pawn shop in another south Florida county far from Juno Beach. The ring thought to be gone forever was subsequently returned to the victim’s astonishment and absolute delight.

It was the outstanding dedication, professionalism and team work of the officers involved that brought this case to a successful close and the suspect facing multiple felony charges and a violation of federal probation for other burglaries. If it weren’t for the efforts of the officers involved the suspect would have committed additional crimes in Juno Beach and the victim’s family heirloom certainly would have been lost forever. Sgt. McGriff’s, Det. Carvajal’s and Officer Shortell’s abilities are what exemplify their professionalism in police work and are deserving of recognition. “