A federal agency and an agency from another state recently honored several Denton County sheriff’s investigators for their work in taking drugs and weapons off the streets and helping apprehend fugitives.

On Tuesday, a representative of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration presented certificates of appreciation to members of the sheriff’s Drug Enforcement Unit and Special Crimes/SWAT Unit. 

In a ceremony at the sheriff’s office, James L. Capra, special agent in charge of the Dallas field division of the DEA, presented the certificates to nine members of the two units. 

“We just couldn’t do what we do without teams like this,” Capra told the unit members. “Any time, day or night, that we call you, you’re there. We’ve done some great things, and we’ve got more planned in the future, and I think it is important to tell each of you how much our department depends on partnering with the sheriff’s office.” 

Capra said in the past couple of years the Denton County Sheriff’s Office has been instrumental in confiscating more than 120 kilograms of cocaine and $2 million worth of weapons. 

And at a Nov. 30 awards dinner in Oklahoma, A. Dewade Langley, director of the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigations, presented certificates of appreciation to Investigator Larry Kish and Texas Ranger Tracy Murphree.

Langley said that on May 1, the officers were asked to help with the investigation of a home invasion rape and robbery in Oklahoma because the suspect was believed to be in the Denton area.

An agent contacted Murphree at home on a Sunday, and the two men set up surveillance at a Denton motel, where they eventually took the suspect into custody.

Kish then helped process the suspect’s vehicle for evidence and the two men helped with an interrogation that led to identifying two other men.

“Without your swift actions, the suspect would have been able to escape and go further into hiding and prolong the investigation,” Langley said.

— Donna Fielder