Location: Sheriff's Headquarters, 833 S. Akers St., Visalia

Incident Date: 4/23/18

Incident Time: 0900 hours

City: Visalia

Posted by: Media Relations

As colleagues, families and friends looked on Monday at Headquarters, Sheriff Mike Boudreaux promoted the following individuals:

Gabriel Macias to the rank of Captain   
Steve Sanchez III to the rank of Lieutenant   
William Seymour to the rank of Sergeant   
Ricardo Cerda to the rank of Sergeant 

Sheriff Boudreaux said he wished he could have promoted everyone but these four individuals raised the bar. Each of them thanked the Sheriff and his Executive Command Staff for the opportunity to promote in the department. 

Sgt. Cerda said it was an honor to be promoted in front of many of the people he’s worked with and worked for over the past 12 years at the Sheriff’s Office.

Sgt. Seymour, who heads up the Sheriff’s Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Unit, said the department has grown a lot in the last few years.

“Take a Tulare County deputy and put them anywhere,” he said. “They can do anything and they can handle any assignment. Working here gives you the background to excel.”

 Lt. Sanchez has been assigned as the station commander at the Orosi Substation.

 
“I will continue to do my best to improve the quality of life for the people in the area,” he said.

Cpt. Gabriel Macias thanked his wife for the sacrifices she’s made as he’s risen through the ranks at the Sheriff’s Office.

“Nobody would be up here wearing this patch without the support of their families,” he said.

Biographies:

Captain Gabriel Macias is a long-time resident of Tulare County and lives in the City of Visalia.  He is married to his wife of 22 years, Cindy, and is the father of three children. Cpt. Macias graduated from Lindsay High School and attended Porterville College for two years. 

While employed at the Wal-Mart Distribution Center in Porterville, he attended the Extended Tulare-Kings Police Academy and graduated in 2002.   

Cpt. Macias was hired by the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office in July of 2002 as a Deputy Sheriff. He was assigned to the Main Jail.  In 2004, he was transferred to the Porterville Substation Patrol Division.

In 2006, he was assigned as a Community Based Officer in Terra Bella and became a Field Training Officer. 

In 2008, he was transferred to the Sheriff’s Tactical Enforcement Personnel team. In STEP, he was a Range Master, Team Leader and participated in large operations including LOCCUST and TRIDENT. 

In 2012, he was promoted to the rank of Sergeant and was assigned to the Pixley Substation. He transferred to the Headquarters Substation in 2013, where he took over the Field Training Officer (FTO) Program. 

As a Sergeant in 2014, he was transferred to STEP and was involved in many large operations and dignitary protection assignments, including Donald Trump’s Election Visit. 

In September of 2016, he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant and was assigned to the Orosi Substation. During his tenure as a Lieutenant, he was assigned to the Alcohol Beverage Control Grant, and FTO program. 

Cpt. Macias is currently in the process of obtaining his Bachelor’s Degree (August), and enjoys family time and classic cars. He comes from a large family with three brothers and four sisters and too many nieces and nephews to count, three of whom are in law enforcement at the California Highway Patrol, Lindsay Police Department and the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office.  

He has been assigned to Investigations.

Lieutenant Steve Sanchez lives with his wife, Sheila and they have three children. He graduated from Kingsburg High school in 1993.

Lt. Sanchez was hired by the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office in 1996 as a Detention Services Officer and was assigned to the Bob Wiley Detention Facility.  

While still working for the Sheriff’s Office, he completed the Fresno Police Academy in 1998 and was re-assigned as a Deputy I to the Transport Division. 

In 2001, he was assigned to the Orosi Substation as a Patrol Deputy.  In 2004, he transferred to the Gang Violence Suppression Unit and SWAT. During his tenure as a Gang Detective, he wrote and implemented one of the first Civil Gang Injunctions in Tulare County for the town of Ivanhoe. 

Lt. Sanchez was named Officer of the Year by the Latino Peace Officers Association for his work on the Civil Gang Injunction, in 2008. 

In 2009, he was promoted to the rank of Sergeant and was assigned to the Headquarters Substation Patrol Unit.  
Lt. Sanchez became the North County Admin Sergeant in 2012.  During his tenure, he supervised the Explorer Program and assisted with the Sheriff’s P.A.L. program. 

In 2015, he was assigned to Investigations and supervised the South County Gang Violence Suppression Unit. During that time, his unit assisted with Operation Red Sol, which resulted in the largest multi-agency crackdown on Norteno Gangs in Tulare County History with more than 81 arrests. 

In 2016, he was assigned to Internal Affairs. His most recent assignment began in 2017 as the Sergeant for the County Apprehension Team Tracking Criminals in Hiding (CATTCH) Unit. He also supervised the SWAT team.

Lt. Sanchez has a passion for sports and enjoys playing softball and coaching youth baseball, soccer and football. He enjoys spending time with his family attending sporting events and going on trips to the coast.

He will be assigned to the Cutler/Orosi Substation. 

Sergeant William Seymour was born in Tulare and lives in Visalia.  He is married to his wife, Sandra, and has a 20-year-old son who is in the doctorate program at Reed University in Portland, Oregon. 

Sgt. Seymour graduated from Golden West High School in 1983.  Afterward, he continued his education at College of Sequoias where he obtained his Associate’s Degree in Liberal Arts in 1985.  He later attended Fresno State University and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Liberal Arts in 1989.  

In 1991, he was hired by the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office as a Deputy Sheriff and was assigned to the Return To Custody Facility. 

In 1993, he left the department after he was laid off and went to work for the Inyo County Sheriff’s Office as a Deputy Sheriff. Two years later, he was hired at the Paso Robles Police Department and worked as a Police Officer assigned as a Field Training Officer and a K-9 handler.  

During his tenure in Paso Robles, Sgt. Seymour received the Medal Of Valor and was Officer of the Year for the State of California in 1997 for rescuing a kidnapped victim from an armed suspect.

In 2000, he was re-hired by the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office and was assigned to the Porterville Substation.  He later transferred to Headquarters Patrol in 2004. 

During his time as a Deputy Sheriff on patrol, he was also a Field Training Officer. 

Later in 2004, he was transferred to the Sheriff’s Tactical Enforcement Personnel (STEP) team.  In 2006, he was transferred to the Property Crimes Unit. In 2009, he was transferred back to patrol, assigned to the Pixley Substation.  

In 2015, he was transferred to the Air Support Unit. He became a Corporal in 2016 and began spearheading the Sheriff’s Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Unit. He oversees a team of UAV operators in patrol, detectives and detentions.
Sgt. Seymour has become a sought-after resource regarding UAVs and law enforcement in his two years a full-time drone operator at the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office. 

He will be assigned to the Pixley Substation as a Patrol Sergeant and continue to oversee the Sheriff’s UAV program.

Sergeant Rick Cerda was born and raised in Southern California and now lives in the city of Visalia. He is married to his wife of 27 years, Gigi, and is the father of two daughters. He graduated from San Gabriel High School in 1987. Afterward, he went into and, ultimately, ran the family business.  

At the age of 29, he attended the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Academy sponsored by the Maywood Police Department and graduated in February of 2000.  While continuing to run the family business, he served as a reserve police officer for Maywood PD.  

Sgt. Cerda realized his true calling was in law enforcement and he joined the Maywood Police Department as a full time officer in 2003.

In 2005, Sgt. Cerda and his family moved to Visalia and he was hired by the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office as a Correctional Deputy in 2006. His first assignment was at the Men’s Correctional Facility.  

In 2007, he transferred to the Pixley Substation as a Deputy Sheriff.  

In 2010, he became a Community Based Officer (CBO) for the community of Earlimart.  During his time as a CBO, he was also an adviser for the Sheriff’s Explorer program.  

Sgt. Cerda left the Tulare County Sheriff’s Department briefly in 2012, and worked for the Tulare Police Department. After a short time, he returned to the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office and was assigned to Headquarters Patrol, which is now the Visalia Substation. 

In 2013, he was assigned as a Field Training Officer and had the opportunity to field train one of his former Explorers, Robert Richardson.

In 2015, Sgt. Cerda was assigned as a detective to the Sheriff’s Tactical Enforcement Personnel (STEP).  In 2017, he was reassigned to the County Apprehension Team Tracking Criminals in Hiding (CATTCH).  During his tenure in STEP and CATTCH, Sgt. Cerda has served as a member of the SWAT team.

In his off time, Sgt. Cerda enjoys golfing (sometimes) and jogging.  He is passionate about a yearly law enforcement event called Baker to Vegas, a relay team of 20 runners who run across the California and Nevada desert for 120 miles.  He has participated as a runner for nine years and hopes to continue running in the race for the remainder of his law enforcement career.    

Sgt. Cerda will be assigned to the Visalia Substation.