Dodge Sheriff's Office Chief Deputy Steps Down After 37 Years

At a retirement party held at the Dodge County Board of Supervisors chambers, more than 80 current and former Sheriff's Office employees and others visited with Reynolds and praised his dedication during his 37 years of career while nibbling on cakes and other treats.

Around 4:15 p.m. on May 24, a Dodge County 911 center dispatcher read Reynolds' traditional final signature over the law enforcement scanner channel, thanking him for all he had done for residents local but above all for being an excellent colleague and friend.

On Thursday, Reynolds spoke to the Tribune about his retirement, noting that the most satisfying thing about his 37 years with the Dodge County Sheriff's Office was “the people,” and that he believed Dodge County was a community great place to live and raise a family. family.

“I just turned 68 and I think (law enforcement) is a young man's profession, you know,” Reynolds said. “It was just time to go. I didn't want to be that guy that got in the way or, you know, dragged people down.

Reynolds' career began in 1987 when he was hired by former Dodge County Sheriff Dan Weddle and included working under three different sheriffs as well as an 11-month stint as sheriff acting role of the county after the sudden resignation of former Sheriff Steve Hespen in 2022. He also replaced Hespen in 2020, when the former sheriff suffered a heart attack.

He said he was especially grateful that Weddle, who is now a county supervisor, took a chance on hiring him.

“I appreciate him giving me this opportunity and he's always been, you know, easy to work with. He was a good sheriff,” he said.

“All the people I work with, you know, that’s what I’ll miss the most. You’re pretty close to the things we have to deal with,” Reynolds said.

Law enforcement wasn't Reynolds' first career choice, but he said once he joined Dodge County, “it was a good fit for him.”

“I didn’t really intend to go into law enforcement. I was interested in flying and I had gotten a commercial helicopter (pilot) license, and I thought maybe I could convert, you know, merge that with law enforcement,” a- he declared. “But Nebraska isn’t (driver friendly) unless you’re in Omaha and Lincoln. So that’s where I stayed (at the Dodge County Sheriff’s Office).

In 2007, Reynolds was promoted to deputy chief, a position he held until his retirement. He took a year's leave of absence in 2008 to work as a private military contractor in Afghanistan, where he trained local police officers to become professional law enforcement officers.

“We were training the Border Patrol and it was something I really enjoyed doing,” he said.

Reynolds also served as mayor of Hooper, in far north Dodge County, for several terms.

In his 37 years as a law enforcement officer, he said he has dozens of cases and criminals he remembers, but several specific cases stand out to him as more memorable than others. .

“In April 2004, I participated in a homicide investigation. It was a bit out in the country by Hooper. Pernell Franke was convicted of this and he is now in prison for life because of it,” he said. “It was very interesting to work alongside the group of investigators, gather a lot of evidence and see how this process worked.”

Reynolds said several aspects of Franke's case intrigued him, including the defaced body and the fact that the victim was an immigrant who authorities had difficulty identifying.

“You know, we had a hard time identifying him, he was an immigrant to Nebraska. It was on a farm and it was pretty desolate. I answered it by myself and there’s a dead body in the basement,” Reynolds said. “So that was it, it was kind of interesting to me.”

Another significant case Reynolds said was important to him was the death of a man on U.S. Highway 275, just south of Morningside Road. The man was struck by a motor vehicle and his body was found by construction workers.

Marisa Utterback, 30, of Fremont, was arrested and charged with suspicion of vehicular manslaughter and vehicular homicide, reckless driving, leaving the scene of an accident, failure to render aid, tampering with evidence and multiple other traffic violations. The incident occurred on Thursday September 22, 2022 around 2:30 p.m.

Utterback has pleaded not guilty to all charges and is expected to appear in Dodge County District Court soon on July 1.

“A few years ago a man was killed along (U.S.) 275, you know, the beltway around Fremont. We brought in the Douglas County Crime Lab and just, just the technique that they used and how our investigator, Ryan Smith, was able to locate the car almost immediately,” Reynolds said of the case.

“With modern technology, we had a device that could immediately remove fingerprints from the body. So we identified it very quickly,” he said. “So that helped a lot in putting things together…the DNA evidence and things like that.”

According to a press release from current Dodge County Sheriff Dustin Weitzel, Reynolds' first job when he was hired in April 1987 was on highway patrol as a deputy. In 1992, Reynolds was promoted to sergeant, and Weitzel noted, “he started a long road to leading others.”

“Since then, he has been an integral part of the department. He has responded to hundreds of calls over the years and helped more citizens than we will ever know,” Weitzel said in the release. “Reynolds was described as calm, cool and collected, helping to defuse volatile situations. »

During his career, Reynolds served as a deputy, investigator, sergeant, chief deputy and acting sheriff.

Weitzel also thanked Reynolds for being an integral part of the Sheriff's Office's first-ever drone team, and noted, “making sure deputies had the equipment they needed to carry out their responsibilities.” “

“We congratulate Deputy Chief Reynolds on his retirement. We are very grateful for the time he dedicated to our office and the additional time he stayed to ensure a smooth transition,” Weitzel said in the release. “We hope he enjoys retirement and life slows down for him, but chasing his grandkids is just as busy!” Thank you, Deputy Chief Reynolds, for your commitment to Dodge County.

Reynolds said he wasn't entirely sure what the future held for his retirement, explaining that he had considered returning to the private sector, but also spending time with his wife, Carrie, his three sons and eight grandchildren.

“We will celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary next February. We’re also in the middle of baseball season with (his grandchildren),” Reynolds said.

He also praised the resilience of Dodge County residents, who he said showed compassion and care during the spring 2019 floods.

“I think the floods of 2019 kind of shined a spotlight on the people of Dodge County and Fremont. You know how much they supported us,” he said. “I mean, it was amazing what people did for us and what they did for each other. It is a community where life is good.