DUI Checkpoint in Chiefland

On Oct 28, 2011, the Levy County Sheriffs Office and Chiefland Police Department will be hosting a Multi agency DUI, driver’s license vehicle safety checkpoint on NW 14st in the area of NW 22nd Ave from 10pm to 2am. This will be a part of a statewide effort to crack down on impaired driving over the Halloween Holiday. Drivers are asked to have their insurance, registration and drivers license ready when entering the checkpoint.The Levy County Sheriff's Office and the Chiefland Police Departmetn would like to wish everyone a safe HalloweenWeekend and please do not drink and drive.

HALLOWEEN WEEK LONG CRACKDOWN ON DRUNK DRIVING BEGINS TOMORROW.

Drunk Drivers Can’t Hide in Halloween Costumes

Drivers Beware: Local Law Enforcement County Wide Cracking Down on Drinking and Driving

[Bronson, Florida]— As party-going ghosts and goblins celebrate Halloween this year, everyone should heed Levy County Sheriffs office and local Police’s warnings to keep the party off the road. Drivers beware: local law enforcement across the region will be cracking down on drunk drivers with an aggressive Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over enforcement blitz. “There isn’t a Halloween costume clever enough to hide a drunk driver who’s made the dangerous decision to get behind the wheel,” Sheriff Smith “Law enforcement officers are committed to keeping the roads safe for everyone to enjoy the holiday.” Nighttime is always a dangerous time on the road. But Halloween is one of the deadliest nights of the year for impaired drivers. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 48 percent of all highway fatalities throughout the nation on Halloween night (6 p.m. Oct. 31 to 5:59 a.m. Nov. 1) in 2009 involved a driver or a motorcycle rider with a blood alcohol concentration of .08 grams per deciliter or higher, which is illegal in every state. “The scariest parts of Halloween aren’t the spooky costumes and scary pranks,” said Sheriff Smith. “It’s the fact that too often impaired drivers don’t plan ahead and end up making the roads scarier than a horror show.”

The Levy County Sheriffs Office and your Chiefs of Police recommends these simple tips:

Plan a safe way home before the festivities begin.

Before drinking, please designate a sober driver.

If you’re impaired, take a taxi, call a sober friend or family member,

Bottom line make sure you get home safely.

If you happen to see a drunk driver on the road, don’t hesitate to contact your local law enforcement. For more information, please visit http://www.nhtsa.gov/drivesober/

Employee Reaches Million Dollar Mark.

The Levy County Sheriff’s office would like to take this opportunity to recognize one of its own in a milestone achievement of financial relief to the Citizens of Levy County in these tough economic times. The E911 system is funded with a $.50 per month fee collected on telephone lines. With the advent of cell phones many people have chosen to drop their landline phones reducing revenue to support E911. However, due to Florida’s Rural Grant Program for E911 counties with a population under 75,000 can receive funding for projects unattainable with only the monthly revenues.
Today we honor Christine Sheppard, the Database Manager of The Levy County E911 department. Due to Christine’s hard work the citizens of Levy County now have a modern, cutting edge, state of the art 911 call center and VoIP (Voice over the internet protocol) delivery system that saves our office thousands of dollars monthly over the previous system. Grants have also provided for mapping the entire county with road centerlines and GPS points for addresses and cell tower sites. All of these technology upgrades were done without cost to the tax payers of Levy County by the over 1 Million dollars of grant funding awarded to our office through Christine’s hard work and dedication over the last few years. Christine’s actions reflect great credit on herself, the Sheriff’s Office and the Public Safety Community as a whole.

Update to July 4, article "Thieves arrested During Stake out"

On July 1, 2011 the Levy County Sheriff's Office conducted a stake-out on some farm equipment that had been reported stolen by Mr. Freddie Bell of Williston. The property was found at another location and appeared to be poised to use in some additional criminal activity.

With this in mind Captain Scott Anderson and Lt. Duane Dyskstra of the Levy County Sheriff's Office conducted surveillance on the equipment. The criminals did indeed return to the scene of the crime and were subsequently arrested. One of those arrested were Fredrick Arthur Mills Jr. w/m dob 8/2/76. Mills was convicted and sentenced to 15 years on October 5, 2011 in Bronson FL on 5 felonies and 2 misdemeanors. The second defendant involved in this case Wayne Joseph Drake w/m dob 6/22/66 is till awaiting trial.