Two new on the crew

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LAW ENFORCEMENT NEWS

LA SALLE COUNTY SHERIFF Anthony Zertuche administered the oaths of office Friday, June 30, to a pair of new deputies who have begun their field training and will soon be on regular patrols. New to the law enforcement agency are (Photos above, L-R) Deputy Giovanni Ayala and Deputy Katrina Hernandez. Both are 2018 graduates of Cotulla High School and both are part of the sheriff’s drive to recruit and train local officers to serve in the communities in which they were raised.
DEPUTY AYALA is a May 2023 graduate of the Peace Officer Academy at Southwest Texas Junior College in Uvalde and previously served La Salle County as a correctional officer in the county jail. He has also worked in the energy industry in South Texas. He is the son of Henry Gilbert Ayala, Cotulla city councilor, and Melinda Ayala. The new deputy says it has been a lifelong dream of his to serve his own community in law enforcement. He was pinned with his new deputy badge in the courthouse ceremony by his father.
DEPUTY HERNANDEZ is a December 2022 graduate of the Peace Officer Academy at Uvalde and has previously worked in the foodservice industry. She is the daughter of La Salle County Sheriff’s Captain Elvira Gonzales and Deputy Richard Gonzales and says she is fulfilling her goal of pursuing her career in public service and looks forward to giving back to the community that raised her. She was pinned with her new deputy badge in the courthouse ceremony by both her parents.
SHERIFF ZERTUCHE said last week that he believes it is vital to bring hometown service to La Salle County by the adults who have benefited from being a part of the county all their lives and whose interests in public service are anchored in the environment, neighborhood and culture with which they are most familiar and to whose betterment they have dedicated their careers.
(CURRENT Photos: Marc Robertson)