Pulaski County Sheriff Mike Gayer is retiring after two terms in office. Members of the public are invited to celebrate with him today at the sheriff’s office in Winamac. The party will take place from noon until 1:30 p.m. EST in the sheriff’s training room.
The Pulaski County Sheriff’s Department is fully staffed again, with one notable exception. Cpl. Paul Grandstaff has tendered his retirement after 26 years with the department. Sheriff Mike Gayer says he’s on leave through the end of the year using up accumulated vacation and comp days. Continue reading
Ron Powers has attended his final regularly-scheduled meeting as a member of the Pulaski County Council. He’s retiring at the end of the month after two four-year terms, as is Pulaski County Sheriff Mike Gayer. Tensions between the two have frequently spilled over into meetings. Monday night Gayer set that aside. Continue reading
Evidence was suppressed in a case heard in Pulaski Superior Court after it was found that the arresting officer did not have arrest powers at the time of the incident.
Court documents obtained by WKVI indicate Pulaski County Sheriff Mike Gayer appointed longtime reserve deputy John Haley as a part-time/special deputy on Sept. 7, 2011. He had until September of 2012 to complete the Indiana Law Enforcement Training Academy but did not do so. The only record of training in his personnel file is the pre-basic 40-hour course required by reserve deputies. Haley first joined the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Department Reserves in approximately 2007/2008.
A fugitive on the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Department Most Wanted List is behind bars. Alyssa Breanne Powers, 18, was booked into the Pulaski County Jail early this morning. Sheriff Mike Gayer tells WKVI News she was arrested in Fulton County on Pulaski County warrants for unlawful possession of a syringe, unlawful possession or use of a legend drug, possession of marijuana, possession of paraphernalia and failure to appear on a theft charge.
Pulaski County Council members reluctantly approved a balance transfer request from Sheriff Mike Gayer to pay overtime for the county’s two new K-9 officers. Both just completed six weeks of training with the dogs . Gayer’s request to move $9,000 from the salary to the overtime line item in his budget prompted a spirited discussion about the military surplus vehicles and other supplies he’s been acquiring for the county for the past few years and the expense involved in going to get them. Under the county’s agreement with federal government, they have to keep the vehicles for at least two years before they can be sold. Gayer says two of the older trucks recently sold for $20,000 at a surplus auction. Half of the proceeds went into the county’s general fund, and the other half were put into an account established by the commissioners to maintain the fleet. Before approving Gayer’s transfer request, the council unanimously voted to require the sheriff to provide a quarterly report of military surplus items owned by the county and a list of what has been sold off. Gayer did note during the discussion that the heavy-duty trucks in particular were a tremendous asset to the county during this winter’s blizzard. He estimates they pulled at least 100 stuck motorists out of snowdrifts when commercial wrecker services couldn’t get there.
If you’re looking for a job, be aware of an employment scam using newspaper ads to snare potential victims. Pulaski County Sheriff Mike Gayer says his office received a report from someone who responded to an ad in “The Herald Journal” in Monticello for a part-time property manager and got an email response from waynejack@outlook.com stating she had been hired and more information was needed. She then got a money order for a high dollar amount in the mail and was instructed to cash it, keep a little money for incidental expenses and send the rest to pay for some type of business expense. This scam used a Lafayette, Ind. address, according to Gayer. However, a search of the telephone number turned up numerous classified ads for an assistant construction manager in papers across the country. “Wayne Jackson” is the employer’s name in those ads. If you have any information or have been involved in a similar scam, please contact the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office at 574-946-3341.
