Location: Tulare County Board of Supervisors Chambers

Posted by: Media Relations

Who: Sheriff Mike Boudreaux 
What: Formal promotional ceremony for Captain John Gonzalez, Lieutenant Harold Liles, Lieutenant Gabriel Macias and Sergeant Merced Zamora.
When: 10:00 a.m., Tuesday, September 6^th 2016
Where: Tulare County Board of Supervisors Chambers, 2800 W. Burrel Ave., Visalia
Info: Contact Liz Jones at 559-636-4695

Sheriff Mike Boudreaux is proud to announce the promotion of Lieutenant John Gonzalez to Captain, Sergeant Harold Liles to Lieutenant, Sergeant Gabe Macias to Lieutenant and Detective Merced Zamora to Sergeant.

Captain Gonzalez began his career with the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office on November 17 1986, and was assigned to work at the Main Jail. After one year, he was assigned to Jail Transport.  In July of 1989, he was assigned a special detail to work undercover as a student at Mt. Whitney High School in Visalia.  In May of 1990, John transferred to Headquarters Patrol where he worked for four years.  During that time he was assigned to a burglary task force for several months.

In September of 1994, Captain Gonzalez was transferred to STEP. He worked with two Sergeants to help shape and create the Gang Task Force that is still in place.

In December of 1998, Captain Gonzalez was promoted to the rank of Sergeant where he was assigned to the Custody Division at the Tulare County Correctional Center. October of 2004, he returned to STEP as a Sergeant. Operation LOCCUST was one of the largest scale multiagency details the Sheriff’s Office had coordinated. John was instrumental in this detail which received national recognition from the President of the United States and a visit during the detail from the Drug Czar.  In September of 2009, John transferred to the Narcotics Unit and continued to assist with these large details like Operation Trident. 

John Gonzalez transferred to his most recent assignment as a Sergeant in Internal Affairs in

June of 2012 and held that position until he was promoted to Lieutenant on July 29, 2013. Captain Gonzalez worked different assignments during his time as a Lieutenant (HQ Sub-Station, Gang Unit, Crimes against Persons and the Orosi Sub-Station). 

Captain John Gonzalez was born and raised in Sanger California.  He graduated from Sanger High School in 1983 and began attending Fresno City College. John has been supported in his career by his father, John Gonzalez, his mother, Cora Gonzalez, who both have passed away and his two daughters Charlie age 24, Hallie age 17, and son, John age 18. He would like to thank Nancy Ramos-Gonzalez for being there for him for the past five years.

 Lieutenant Harold Liles began his career with the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office in 1997, he successfully worked undercover details as a student at Redwood High School in Visalia for the Visalia Police Department. He was then assigned to the Pixley Substation as a patrol deputy.

In 1998 he was transferred to the Narcotics Unit as a detective. He was deputized as a Federal Agent and worked several major drug cases and assisted with the dismantling of several large drug organizations. He also received Knights of Columbus Officer of the year during this period.

In 2005, he was promoted to Sergeant. In 2008 he was very instrumental in creating the newly established South County Gang Unit that is still in place. His assignments as a Sergeant included; Men’s Correctional Facility, Porterville Patrol, South County Gang, North End Property, Juvenile Sexual Assault, Narcs unit and served as the Detective Administrative Sergeant.

Harold was born and raised in North Carolina to Harold and Catherine Liles.   He graduated from Anson Sr. High School in 1990, where he was a State Champion in Track and Field. He attended Taft College where he majored in criminal justice, while he ran track and played football.  He obtained his associates degree in Criminal justice from Taft College. 

Harold was awarded track scholarships to both East Carolina University and California State University Chico where he ran track and continued his studies in Criminal Justice.  Harold also attended Union University where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice Management. He graduated from the Sherman Block Leadership Academy and The Tulare County Leadership Academy.  Harold is married to Kerrie Liles and they have five children, Jasmine, Tanisha, Ayana, Darius and Keylan and three grandchildren, Zaria, Josiah and Jayden.

Lieutenant Gabriel Macias began his career with the Tulare County Sheriff's Office on November of 2002 assigned to work at the Main Jail.  Approximately two years later he transferred to the Patrol Division where he was assigned to the Porterville Substation. During his time on patrol, he was assigned as a Community Based Officer in Terra Bella as well as a Field Training Officer. In 2007, he received the Porterville’s Substation Officer of the Year. 

In 2008, he was transferred to the Sheriff's Tactical Enforcement Personnel (STEP) Team as a Detective. During his time in STEP, he was a Team Leader as well as a Range Master. While assigned to STEP he worked on a number of high profile cases including Operation LOCCUST and Operation Trident.  In 2011, he received the DSA’s Officer of the Year.

Gabriel Macias was promoted to the rank of Sergeant in 2012. Sergeant Gabriel Macias was also voted to the Deputy Sheriff’s Association Board of Director’s, where he has served as the Sergeant’s Representative.

In 2015, Sergeant Macias returned to the STEP Unit as the supervisor, where he has worked with all surrounding agencies in multiple drug suppression details, as well as fire evacuation details.

Lieutenant Gabriel Macias was born in Mexico, and his family migrated to the United States when he was 2 years old. He was raised in Lindsay California and grew up helping his parents by working in the fields. Lt. Macias writes and speaks fluent Spanish. He graduated from Lindsay High School in 1991 and began attending Porterville City College for two years. He is currently in the process of obtaining his bachelor’s degree. He began working at the Wal Mart Distribution Center and worked there for seven years. While working full time, he put himself through the Tulare-Kings Police Academy on the weekends. He graduated from the Academy in 2002.

Gabriel has been supported in his career by his father, his mother and eight brothers and sisters. He has three children, Cassandra 20, Sarah 15 and Vince who is 10. A special thank you to his wife of 20 years and high school sweetheart, Cindy.

Sergeant Merced Zamora began his career with the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office in the spring of 2006 as a Correctional Deputy. After two and a half years of working in the Correctional Division, he was given the opportunity to be sponsored by the Sherriff’s Office to attend the Police Academy. After graduating from the Police Academy, he was transferred into the Operational Division. He was assigned to the Porterville Substation and later to the Pixley Substation, where he was honored and presented with the Medal of Valor for the actions he took during a traffic accident.

In 2009 he was promoted to a Detective and was assigned to the South County Gang Unit with a collateral assignment in SWAT and as a Hostage Negotiator. In October of 2012, he was transferred out of the Gang Unit and assigned to the Violent Crimes Unit as a Homicide Detective.

Sergeant Zamora was born and raised in Tulare County around the Linnell Camp and Farmersville area. He graduated from Exeter High School in 1998. During the summers, he worked in the fields with his family to save money for college. Sergeant Zamora attended College of the Sequoias and graduated in the fall of 2000. He attended the University of California, Santa Barbara and graduated in 2002 with a Bachelor’s of Arts in Law and Society with an Emphasis in Criminal Justice.

Sergeant Zamora has been supported by his wife, Bre Zamora and his four children; ages Seven, Six, Four, and two.