Officer and Employee of the Month January 2015

ERIK VENRICK

OFFICER OF THE MONTH

January 2015

Officer Erik Venrick has been an outstanding member of the FTO squad in Sector E for the past two years.  He has worked heavily in Robles Park over that time and has been an instrumental figure in the arrests of numerous dangerous felons and the removal of firearms.  He has established a rapport in the community and has an extensive knowledge of the offenders in the area.  

On November 1, 2014, a burglary occurred at the Aliana Meat Market.  Over $2,000 worth of seafood was stolen.  The employees observed the offense after reviewing their surveillance footage.  Later that day, the suspect entered the store and was recognized by employees.  Officer Venrick and his probationary officer arrived and took the suspect into custody without incident.  After reviewing the video, Officer Venrick positively identified the suspect.  The suspect was charged with Commercial Burglary, Grand Theft and Possession of Oxycodone, and his vehicle was seized for forfeiture.

Officer Venrick, also, observed an improperly parked vehicle within Robles Park and made contact with the passenger, who was the lone occupant of the vehicle.  He smelled a strong odor of marijuana and detained the passenger.  A search revealed a loaded .380 semi-auto in the defendant's pocket, along with 12 pills of MDMA.  Under the passenger seat, 14g of marijuana and 11.3g of crack cocaine were located.  The defendant was a convicted felon and the vehicle was seized.

On November 9, Officer Venrick and his probationary officer were doing proactive patrol in Jackson Heights.  They encountered a group of men loitering by the maintenance building.  One was found to have an active warrant and was taken into custody.  He was found to be in possession of 11 bags of marijuana, weighing 22g, packaged to sell. This occurred within 1,000 feet of a church.

On November 10, Officer Venrick used his rapport to receive intel about a group of 10 juveniles loitering in the 300 block of Woodlawn and possibly armed with guns.  It was stated that they had just beaten a teenage boy with a wooden mop handle until his jaw was swollen.  Officer Venrick formulated a plan and led several FTO/PO teams to the group of juveniles.  They located a loaded .380 semi-automatic pistol near their location.  The investigation continued into the beating of the juvenile and a witness was located.  The juveniles were positively identified and taken into custody.  The juvenile that used the mop handle in the offense had a warrant for Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon.

On November 19, Officer Venrick received a phone call from a resident, giving him information of a subject selling narcotics in front of Central Supermarket.  He located the subject and observed a bulge in the suspect's front pocket that he immediately believed to be a firearm.  During a pat-down, a fully loaded .38 revolver was recovered and the defendant was found to be a six-time convicted felon.  Six ring baggies of marijuana and eight MDMA pills were also found on his person.

During the month of November 2014, Officer Venrick had 207 self-initiated calls, 33 arrests, 77 traffic stops and 24 citations.  In recognition of his tenacity and dedication, Officer Erik Venrick has been selected as the Officer of the Month for January 2015.

LEANDRO ANLOAGUE

EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH

January 2015

Leandro Anloague has been employed with the Tampa Police Department for almost 25 years.  He has been assigned as an Evidence Technician in the Evidence Control Section since 1990.  In his assignment at the Impound Lot, he assists customers at the window, accepts submitted evidence, releases evidence, takes in and releases vehicles, and conducts other duties of an Evidence Technician.  However, Leandro takes on additional duties which are not done by the other technicians. 

His duties involve working with the Legal Department and auction company to assure that vehicles which will go to auction are properly processed.  This involves ensuring paperwork is completed in enough time so vehicle owners are notified of any forfeitures.  Research is done on the vehicles for lein information, ownership, and any other pertinant information on the vehicles.  If a vehicle has a hold, he is responsible for notifying Legal.  Once the hold is removed, the vehicles are ready for auction.  He must then ensure that a notice of sale is sent to the registered owner at least 15 days prior to the auction, allowing the owner time to retrieve their vehicle.  Sales packets are prepared for the auction company and all information is tracked when delivered.  All of this paperwork is imaged into Versadex.  Once the process is complete, a list is made and double checked for accuracy.  The list is then sent to the "Free Press" for publication 10 days prior to auction. Copies of the ad is attached to the sales packet.  Once the paperwork is completed, the vehicles are marked at the Impound Lot for recognition.  Leandro then processes the vehicles and inventories personal belongings before it is towed.  The belongings are boxed, labeled and stored at the Impound Lot for safekeeping.  These items are available for release until the day of auction.  The items are disposed of the day after the auction.

Prior to the auction, Leandro provides District Lieutenants with the list of auction vehicles.  The Lieutenants can coordinate with Leandro to inspect the vehicles to determine if they want to use any of the vehicles for undercover operations.  If any are selected, they are sent to Central Maintenance for inspection prior to release.  This can be done the day after the auction is complete and Mr. Anloague notifies the Lieutenant so someone can beassigned to transport the vehicles.  All other vehicles are towed to the auction company at least a week prior to auction.  This is monitored by Leandro to ensure no errors are made.  If an owner responds to retrieve a vehicle after towing, Leandro coordinates with the auction company to ensure the vehicle is released to the owner.   Towed vehicles are updated in Versadex and, once the vehicles are auctioned, Leandro disposes of the cars in Versadex and forwards the records to the pickup desk for cancellation. 

This assignment alone is something that could be considered a full time job.  He does it with accuracy and never complains about the additional work.  In recognition of his dedication and hard work, Leandro Anloague has been selected as the Employee of the Month for January 2015.