| Sheahan to seek 4th term as sheriff | |
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By Jim Seckler Mohave Daily News | |
KINGMAN - Mohave County Sheriff Tom Sheahan will run for a fourth term as sheriff of the fifth largest county in the nation. At a luncheon Monday in Kingman, Sheahan said several issues face the county including illegal immigration. The county does not get the publicity that Maricopa County and other counties closer to the Mexican border get. "Illegal immigration is not just about taking agricultural or landscaping jobs but these people also commit crimes," he said. The sheriff's office has made a number of arrests in the recent year including an illegal immigrant allegedly stabbing another immigrant in Mohave Valley in 2007. He is charged with attempted murder. Illegal immigrants are known to commit burglaries and other crimes after sending money home to their families. The sheriff's office is also working with two Immigration and Custom Enforcement officers who are permanently based in Bullhead City. Another headline issue is the cracking down on underage marriages by polygamists in Colorado City. The county attorney's office and his deputies have done more recently than in the past 50 years. The jailed leader of the polygamist group, Warren Jeffs, should also soon be arriving in Mohave County, Sheahan said. The sheriff also praised the work of the 150 volunteers of the search and rescue unit and the volunteer posse who volunteer directing traffic at traffic crashes and transport prisoners. Sheahan also spoke of the boating safety officers who patrol the busy Colorado River from Lake Havasu City to Bullhead City. Another accomplishment is the upgrade in weapons and Tasers for his deputies as well as replacing high-mileage vehicles. Another achievement was the retention of sheriff's office employees with competitive pay. Another successful program is the driving under the influence task force who are on the county roads every day getting intoxicated drivers off the road, he said. Sheahan also spoke of the new county jail, which is proposed to be built near the county administration building, as well as the modern 4-year-old sheriff's office in Kingman complete with a crime lab. He also praised the current supervisors for hiring four additional deputies. Sheahan moved to Mohave County in 1981 and was appointed chief deputy sheriff in 1990. He ran for sheriff in 1996 after the retirement of then Sheriff Joe Cook. He started out as a deputy with the Du Page County Sheriff's Office in Illinois in 1971. | |
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MohaveDailyNews.com Originally published Monday, January 7, 2008 | |
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