{"id":14035,"date":"2026-01-10T11:26:17","date_gmt":"2026-01-10T18:26:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/sheriffs-office-honors-13-recipients-at-annual-awards-ceremony\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T03:42:43","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T03:42:43","slug":"sheriffs-office-honors-13-recipients-at-annual-awards-ceremony","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/sheriffs-office-honors-13-recipients-at-annual-awards-ceremony\/","title":{"rendered":"Sheriff\u2019s Office honors 13 recipients at annual awards ceremony"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Under the lights of Montezuma-Cortez High School\u2019s Ralph Vavak Theater on Friday night, about 100 community members gathered as Sheriff Steve Nowlin honored 13 people with the Montezuma County Sheriff\u2019s Office 2025 awards.<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s 13 honorees marked the biggest group in the history of the sheriff\u2019s awards.<\/p>\n

Before presenting the awards, Nowlin explained the oath of office that deputies take upon entering the Sheriff\u2019s Office.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnly those with the most impeccable character are chosen to bear the responsibility of protecting democracy,\u201d Nowlin said. \u201cThat\u2019s why our motto is \u2018Guardian heart, warrior spirit.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Nowlin praised the deputies again, sharing how the oath inspires deputies, even on difficult days.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn some of those days, you may ask yourself, \u2018Is it worth it?\u2019 Some may consider leaving for less stressful, better-paying jobs,\u201d Nowlin said. \u201cOn those days, I encourage them to reread the oath posted on the Sheriff\u2019s Office wall. This is not simply a job or career. It is a calling to serve.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Sheriff
Sheriff Steve Nowlin recognizes deputy Kaylee Green during the Montezuma County Sheriff\u2019s Office awards ceremony for her response last year to a three-mile backcountry rescue of an injured hiker near the county\u2019s Grindstone Trail system, as well as for her diligence in traffic enforcement. (Anna Watson\/The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

The first awards went to three Montezuma County Detention Center kitchen deputies \u2013 Jeremy Strong, Darla French and Jennifer Chadwick \u2013 who were not present Friday.<\/p>\n

Nowlin then honored a Drug Enforcement Administration special agent (name redacted) with the Distinguished Service Recognition award. Nowlin said she has been an \u201cintegral\u201d part of the Montezuma\/Cortez Narcotics Investigation Team since 2022, working to keep Colorado and Montezuma County safe from illegal drugs.<\/p>\n

\u201cDuring her service as a DEA special agent attached to the Grand Junction office, special agent (name redacted) took it upon herself to provide her expertise and valuable assistance to the Montezuma\/Cortez Narcotics Investigation Team,\u201d Nowlin said.<\/p>\n

She was also part of two of the largest narcotics investigations in the county\u2019s history.<\/p>\n

Deputy Kaylee Green received the Distinguished Service award as the 2025 Traffic Enforcement Deputy of the Year with 95 citations issued.<\/p>\n

Green also earned the award for her efforts to save an \u201cunconscious and unresponsive\u201d hunter near Grindstone Trail.<\/p>\n

Green was the first to arrive at the trailhead and hiked three miles to locate the injured hunter and his partner. A tree, estimated at 18 inches in diameter, had fallen on the hunter.<\/p>\n

Green assisted the Rico Fire Department and helped locate a safe landing zone for the medical helicopter. When no safe landing spots were found near the injured hunter, Green developed a plan to transport the hunter to Colorado Highway 145, where she shut down traffic and prepared a landing zone on the highway.<\/p>\n

\"Sheriff
Sheriff patrol deputies, agents, detectives and administrative workers gather Friday for the 2025 Montezuma County Sheriff\u2019s Office awards ceremony where law enforcement is recognized for service, life-saving work and investigations. (Anna Watson\/The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Next, Deputy Kyler Rogers and Deputy Peter Schmalz received the Distinguished Service award.<\/p>\n

On Dec. 15, Rogers and Schmalz responded to a call for help from a child. Upon arriving, they found a family trying to flee from an intoxicated father who had allegedly assaulted, threatened and harassed them.<\/p>\n

After arresting the father, the deputies learned he had bought electric cars for the children for Christmas, but they wouldn\u2019t be assembled in time.<\/p>\n

\u201cDeputy Peter Schmalz and Deputy Kyler Rogers went above and beyond, volunteering their own time to assist the children\u2019s mother in assembling these toys, ensuring the children would still have a special Christmas,\u201d Nowlin said.<\/p>\n

\"Deputy
Deputy Kyler Rogers and Deputy Peter Schmalz helped assemble cars for a family involved in a domestic situation before Christmas. (Montezuma County Sheriff\u2019s Office Facebook)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

The Life Saving award was then presented to Sgt. Sarah Gardner and Deputies Cayden Worcester, Justin Lewis and Tristan Harris.<\/p>\n

Nowlin said that on March 29, 2025, an inmate fell and hit his head during a seizure, causing a \u201csignificant\u201d head injury.<\/p>\n

After the inmate was treated at the hospital and returned to the Montezuma County Detention Center, he had another seizure and was transported back to Southwest Memorial Hospital.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis inmate survived,\u201d Nowlin said. \u201cThe quick actions taken were undoubtedly instrumental in saving a life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lewis then received another award, the Distinguished Service award.<\/p>\n

Nowlin praised Lewis\u2019s commitment to the Sheriff\u2019s Office, noting that he would come in every time the office was short-handed, even returning from a trip to Grand Junction to help.<\/p>\n

\"Montezuma
Montezuma County Sheriff Steve Nowlin opens Friday\u2019s awards ceremony by speaking about the oath of office and the department\u2019s responsibility to uphold the Constitution while serving the community. \u201cThe mission is to provide the highest-level dedication to public safety services \u2026 Our duty is to improve the quality of community life,\u201d the sheriff began, just before presenting this year\u2019s awards. (Anna Watson\/The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Deputy Samantha Shaffer was honored for her work as the office\u2019s civil administration assistant.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe quickly learned her duties and has seamlessly integrated into the position,\u201d Nowlin said. \u201cSamantha Shaffer has a positive attitude noticed by all and has been instrumental in reorganizing many administrative programs. She is always willing to assist others, take extra tasks and provide sound ideas for improving the administrative assistant position.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rogers was the 2025 Top DUI Arrest Deputy of the Year, with 17 DUI arrests. Nowlin said more intoxicated drivers were removed from the roads in 2025 than ever before.<\/p>\n

For the final award, Detective Lt. John Hargraves, former detective and current patrol deputy Allen Phelps, Detective Tomas Parker and Evidence Detective Garet Talley received the Exemplary Service Award for their investigation into the death of a 5-year-old girl in 2022.<\/p>\n

On March 29, 2022, deputies were called to a home on Road 20 for an unconscious and unresponsive child. She was pronounced dead at the scene.<\/p>\n

After Hargraves, Phelps, Parker and Talley collected evidence and investigated the girl\u2019s death, the case was presented to a grand jury, resulting in the arrest of the child\u2019s mother on suspicion of first-degree murder on Aug. 22, 2025.<\/p>\n

The woman\u2019s jury trial has not yet been held.<\/p>\n

\u201cDetective Lt. John Hargraves, Detective Allen Phelps, Detective Tomas Parker and Evidence Detective Garet Talley\u2019s professional dedication to the citizens of Montezuma County during this investigation by attaining justice for the unspoken voice of an innocent 5-year-old girl have demonstrated the mission and core values of the Montezuma County Sheriff\u2019s Office by being an example of our commitment to our community and the Montezuma County Sheriff\u2019s Office. Guardian heart, warrior spirit,\u201d Nowlin said.<\/p>\n

In closing, Nowlin thanked attendees and the members of the Montezuma County Sheriff\u2019s Office for their dedication to protecting the community.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are truly above and beyond, as well as each and every one of the members of our sheriff\u2019s office who work hard and diligently every single shift,\u201d Nowlin said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

the largest number of recipients in the history of the awards<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14036,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[28,60,29],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-14035","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-headlines","tag-montezuma-county","tag-newsletter"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14035","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14035"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14035\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19293,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14035\/revisions\/19293"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14036"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14035"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14035"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14035"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=14035"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}