BY DANIEL SCHMIDT
FOR THE OBSERVER
LEE COUNTY — The Lee County Sheriff’s Office honored 16 employees and presented one community recognition award during a ceremony on Friday, May 1.
In a rare public awards event intended to honor his law enforcement officers, Sheriff Jay Jones praised the recipients for their commitment to public service.
“One of the most significant actions we take is to recognize the selfless service of the men and women who dedicate themselves to serve others,” Jones said. “These award recipients represent the very best of their profession and even when placed in situations of high risk, they stand directly in harm’s way to protect the citizens of Lee County. We are very proud of them.”
Investigator Shawn McDevitt was named 2025 Employee of the Year and also received the Sheriff’s Achievement Award, given to employees who go above and beyond their regular duties to benefit crime victims or significantly enhance public safety.
Particularly, Jones praised McDevitt’s work in helping secure the arrests of 22 alleged members of the “Sex, Money, Murder” gang, which is believed to have operated across East Alabama.
That seven-month-long investigation resulted in 79 criminal charges, included violations of the Alabama Criminal Enterprise Prevention Act, violent crimes and firearm, fraud and narcotics-related offenses.
Sgt. Justin Johnson received the 2025 James Anderson Award, established in 2010 in conjunction with the city of Smiths Station. The annual award honors a Sheriff’s Office staff member whose service reflects the commitment to public safety demonstrated by the late Deputy Sheriff James W. Anderson.
Johnson also received the Sheriff’s Distinguished Medal, along with Investigator Matt Parks and Deputies Daulton Garnett, AJ Hussey, Vincent Lopez and Trey Oswalt. The medal honors employees who face significant risk of bodily injury or are hurt in the line of duty under honorable conditions.
Lt. Jacob Cook earned the Sheriff’s Meritorious Service Award for demonstrating exemplary leadership, initiative or innovation that advanced the agency’s mission. Cook also received the Life Saving Medal, awarded to employees whose extraordinary efforts contributed to saving a human life when death appeared imminent.
Other Life Saving Medal recipients were Cpl. Josh Walton, Investigator Andrew Hammond and Deputies Jeremy Brightwell, Scott Cone, Jonathan Kennedy and Manuel Stone.
Quarterly employee honors went to Deputy Chad Stancil for July through September 2025; Taran Sumner for October through December 2025; and Cpl. Josh Walton for January through March 2026.
Punishers LEMC Big Swamp received the Community Recognition Award, which honors a community organization for extraordinary service or support to the Sheriff’s Office.
