Members of the SJSO Aviation Unit join Public Information Officer Taylor Levesque on Episode 5 of SJSO Unlocked!

The primary mission of the SJSO Aviation Unit is to provide support to patrol, investigations, and special teams on the ground responding to calls for service. The Aviation Unit protects the St. Johns County community from above and has an important role in helping save lives.

The St. Johns County Sheriff's Office Aviation Unit was formed in 1997, and has grown to have five pilots, three tactical flight officers (TFO), two full-time aircraft maintainers, and one part-time aircraft maintainer. They operate two Bell 407 aircrafts.

In this episode, Pilot Casey Kumar reflects on assisting with the safe landing of an aircraft in distress over Green Cove Springs in February 2025. TFO Gavin Higgins tells us about a March 3, 2025 pursuit of a South Florida kidnapping suspect through St. Johns and Putnam counties and how the Aviation Unit discovered the suspect hiding in the back of a carry-by semi truck. You'll also learn about the responsibilities of the pilot and TFO, partnerships with local, state, and federal law enforcement partners, training, etc.

#TeamSJSO hopes you enjoy this episode of SJSO Unlocked, available on Spotify, Pandora, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio, and YouTube.

Click this link to listen: https://rss.com/podcasts/sjsounlockedpodcast/

Do you have a question for Sheriff Hardwick, SJSO personnel, or a topic you'd like us to discuss? Send us an email at unlockedpodcast@sjso.org. Thank you for your support.

"If it's too good to be true, it probably is."

On Episode 4 of SJSO Unlocked, Economic Crimes Unit Detectives Bobby Fultz and David Elliott join Public Information Officer Taylor Levesque for a discussion about scams.

Detectives Fultz and Elliott say scams are becoming more popular, and with the access of technology, more creative. In this episode, we talk about economic scams, inmate scams, bail bond scams, job scams, real estate scams, investment scams, computer pop up scams, and the latest trends to look out for.

The St. Johns County Sheriff's Office will never call and ask you for money, never ask you to provide personal identifying information over the phone, or reach out to you about an inmate. If you have doubts about who you are speaking to, call the SJSO non-emergency line (904) 824-8304 and verify before giving away personal information.

If you believe you or someone you know is a victim of a scam, please call SJSO.

We hope you enjoy this episode of SJSO Unlocked, available on Spotify, Pandora, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio, and YouTube.

Do you have a question for Sheriff Hardwick, SJSO personnel, or a topic you'd like us to discuss? Send us an email at unlockedpodcast@sjso.org. Thank you for your support. #teamsjso

On Episode 3 of SJSO Unlocked, Corporal Robert Hill, Deputy Nathan Lebon, and Deputy Stephanie Stuart join Public Affairs Officer Taylor Levesque for a discussion about all things K9.

The St. Johns County Sheriff's Office K9 Unit includes 14 K9 teams certified in narcotics detection, explosive odors, firearms, etc., assigned to patrol, SWAT, corrections, and the schools. In the last year, the K9 Unit has had 1,200+ deployments and 5,000+ hours of training.

In this episode, you'll learn more about our SJSO personnel and their K9 partners, recent deployments they aided in, including recent threats made to schools and businesses, missing persons searches, and violent offenders on the run.

You'll also learn more about how they train and partnerships with surrounding agencies and organizations. The SJSO K9 Unit is a big family who supports one another. But, this episode is not all about business, their friendly banter will also make you laugh.

We hope you enjoy this episode of SJSO Unlocked, available on Spotify, Pandora, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio, and YouTube.

Do you have a question for Sheriff Hardwick, SJSO personnel, or a topic you'd like us to discuss? Send us an email at unlockedpodcast@sjso.org. Thank you for your support. #teamsjso