Local Man Jimmy Valencia Honored for 39 years of Public Service ~By, Charity Maness

 Jimmy Valencia Honored for 39 years of Public Service ~By, Charity Maness

At an awards banquet held in San Mateo County on Wednesday, February 16, 2011, Copperopolis resident Jimmy Valencia was recognized for 39 years of public service, which included law enforcement and criminal defense investigation.

James Valencia entered the United States Air Force in 1964 as an Administration Specialist working within the Air Traffic Control system.  He fell into law enforcement “by a fluke” when in 1973 the trucking company he was dispatching for after leaving the service closed its doors for good and Jimmy, searching for any dispatching job, landed one with the California Highway Patrol.  Within a few years he transferred to SFPD dispatch and was able to move back to his home town of San Francisco.  It was there that he was recruited for a position as a Deputy I for the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Department.

After working for a year in the county jail as a correctional officer, Jimmy was put up for promotion to Deputy II and sent to a 12 week police academy in Chico.  By this time Jimmy was 35 years old. “I was a late bloomer,” he said. Up against kids 21 and 22, Jimmy had his work cut out for him in the academy. Jimmy passed the academy, completed his FTO (Field Training Officer) training, and found himself on his first patrol…in East Palo Alto.  Pulling the 3:00 pm to 3:00 am shift, “It was never boring…the shifts flew by.”

Throughout his career Jimmy has spent time as a Patrol Deputy, Narcotics Officer, Background Investigator, Deputy assigned to the Civil Division, and finally Homicide Detective.

While serving as a narcotics officer he shot and wounded a suspect.  “I will never forget that,” he said while pausing.  “The whole IA (Internal Affairs Investigation) was completed in one night…things were different back then.”  It was quickly deemed a “clean shoot” because the suspect was “armed with a gun and coming at me.”  Following a 36 hour administrative leave, Jimmy was put right back out on the streets.

Being fluent in Spanish, Jimmy found himself in high demand within the Sheriff’s Department working as an interpreter and specializing in investigations. On July 12, 1991, while working an extremely intricate arson case, he suffered a heart attack resulting in his retirement from law enforcement.  It was then that he was retrained as a polygraph examiner, where again, his bilingual status placed him in high demand. Armed with his polygraph skills and background in law enforcement, Jimmy applied for his Private Investigator license and became a contract investigator with the San Mateo County Private Defender Program.

When asked what case he remembered most he spoke of two.

As a police detective he was assigned to investigate an arson case where the suspect was seen fleeing the scene “fully engulfed in flames.” This case involved a prominent citizen, a mistress, a payoff, surveillance, wire tapping, an arrest, and a final disappointing lenient sentence for the prominent citizen who had hired the arsonist.

As a criminal defense investigator he recalls a time when he was working on a California homicide case in Michoacán, Mexico, where he and his partner were suddenly surrounded by drug cartel.  They were both outmanned and outgunned.  Following a very delicate discussion in Spanish, the investigators were finally escorted by two trucks full of heavily armed policemen to the border of Michoacán, and it was suggested that they not come back.

If you are enticed by these stories there will be a part-two of this interview with more in depth details of Jimmy’s escapades, narrow escapes, and possibly more “True Stories from a PI” to follow.

Though Jimmy has ‘retired’ from Law Enforcement and as a Private Investigator, he still plans on staying in the game as a polygraph examiner.

Jimmy’s mark on law enforcement continues through his second son, Kevin, who followed in his footsteps to become a Deputy Sheriff in San Mateo County, as is his daughter-in-law, Bianca.  Who knows, maybe law enforcement runs in the blood and his grandson will follow in grandpa’s footsteps?

 

Jimmy (on the right) being honored and subsequently roasted a bit by San Mateo PDP Chief Investigator John Maness