St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office narcotics deputies recently received awards of recognition from the F.B.I. for their work in a multi-jurisdictional undercover narcotics operation.

Special Agent in Charge of the New Orleans Field Office of the F.B.I., David Welker, met with Sheriff Strain and members of the narcotics division during an awards ceremony at the Sheriff’s Office Administrative Complex in Slidell last week.  S.A.C. Welker presented deputies with awards recognizing their hard work and the efforts of the Sheriff’s Office on a joint operation with the F.B.I. called “Kopf Jaeger”.

The operation took place over a six month period and involved narcotics transactions on both the Northshore and Southshore.  In the end, 41 suspects were arrested and two kilograms of cocaine were seized along with five cars and two firearms.

“This demonstrates that the hard work and dedication of both the Sheriff’s Office and the F.B.I. continues to pay off for citizens of this parish through their partnership to combat crime,” Sheriff Strain said.

Due to the undercover status of the persons involved in the operation, their names and photographs are not being released.

Law enforcement agencies throughout the region are changing the date of National Night Out this year.  The event, which has traditionally been held in August, will occur October 11, 2011.  The change is being made in an effort to ensure better weather for the mostly-outdoor event.  In past years, many residents have cited the heat of the season as an impediment to gaining more participation.

St. Tammany Parish Sheriff Jack Strain wants the public to know that property tax collections from the Sheriff’s Office are NOT performed over the telephone.

A St. Tammany resident recently reported receiving a phone call from someone claiming to be with the “Sheriff’s Department” and attempting to collect overdue property taxes.  The caller also claimed St. Tammany Parish had instituted a new income tax (untrue) and was attempting to collect that amount ($600) as well.  The caller tried to get the resident’s credit card number for supposed payment of the taxes.

If a resident has any questions about payment of their property taxes, they should call the Sheriff’s Office property tax division directly at 985-809-8211.

If a resident receives a call similar to the one described above, they should collect as much information as they can about the caller and call the Sheriff’s Office at 985-898-2338.

A Department of Corrections Trusty assigned to St. Tammany Parish Animal Control who left his work station without authorization over the weekend was located this morning.

Investigators with the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office, with the assistance of the Livingston Parish Sheriff’s Office, found Frederick Haven (DOB: 2/16/1953) in Denham Springs following an intensive search spanning multiple jurisdictions over the past three days.


Haven was in jail for a theft conviction in Tangipahoa Parish in May of this year.  Haven will be brought back to St. Tammany Parish and will be booked with simple escape.  He is expected to return this afternoon.

St. Tammany Parish Sheriff Jack Strain reminds the public that the annual tax sale of properties within St. Tammany Parish will occur tomorrow, Wednesday, June 8th, 2011 starting at 10:00 a.m.

The sale will be held at the Justice Center, 701 N. Columbia St. in the misdemeanor courtroom on the first floor.  Over 2,100 properties are slated to be auctioned.  Buyer registration begins at 8:00 a.m. in the Justice Center.

It is not too late for property owners to settle delinquent tax bills prior to tomorrow’s sale.  Property tax payments may be made between 8:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. tomorrow at the Justice Center.  Payments must be made by certified check, cash or money order.