THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, March 25, 1995 TAG: 9503250301
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MIKE MATHER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Long : 119 lines
This year, Jessica Magary's parents will celebrate their daughter's birthday twice.
They'll celebrate on June 12, when the spirited toddler turns 2. And they'll celebrate on Nov. 1, exactly one year after a firefighter, a police officer and a 911 dispatcher brought the brown-haired girl back from the dead.
The heroes were three of 29 public servants and private citizens recognized Friday during the police department's annual awards ceremony in City Council chambers. Award recipients were recognized for saving lives, protecting the public and improving the community.
``If I never do another thing in this career, it won't matter, because I'll get to see her grow up and graduate high school,'' said Master Firefighter Jim Ingledue who, along with Master Police Officer William Mosley and dispatcher Tanya King, was credited with saving Jessica's life.
Jessica's baby sitter pulled the lifeless child from a backyard pool last November and called police. King, over the telephone, coached the sitter on CPR techniques while Ingledue, a neighborhood resident who grew up in the house where the Magarys now live, raced to help. He and Mosley revived the girl, who recovered for three weeks in a hospital.
At home, with Ingledue and Mosley as frequent visitors, Jessica learned to walk again.
Jessica's parents, Bob and Laurie Magary, were among dozens who watched the ceremony.
Sgt. J.R. Johnson and officer Lacount J. Green saved a woman from a burning townhouse while three fellow officers alerted neighbors.
Sgt. Mike Ronan and officer Russell Christe suffered hypothermia after diving into the wintry Atlantic to rescue a suicidal man.
Lt. Dennis Free and officer Kevin Murphy disarmed and arrested a murder suspect in a patch of dark woods.
Four officers - Rock Eason, Rhonda Bider, Glenn Edmonson and Mike Petroski - were given Blue Stars for sustaining injuries in the line of duty. Edmonson and Petroski were forced to retire because of their injuries.
One citizen, Gregory M. Werrell, was awarded for catching a car thief, and another, Pepe Cabacoy, was honored for diverting teens from gangs.
Two other citizens - Navy SEAL Johnny Holcombe and postal carrier Gary Lawson - were given Life Saving Medals for rescuing a 13-year-old girl who fell through a partially frozen lake. They were among the 13 Life Saving medal recipients.
Their stories ``are among the hundreds'' of unselfish and brave acts that unfold in the city of 420,000 each year, Police Chief Charles R. Wall said.
For the Magarys - who gave baskets of flowers to Jessica's rescuers - the unselfish acts of three strangers gave them their daughter back.
``I just wish there was some way we could find to thank these three people for what they did,'' Laurie Magary said. ``I don't think there ever will be.'' MEMO: HONORED BY VIRGINIA BEACH
Life Saving medals awarded to Sgt. J.R. Johnson and officer Lacount
J. Green, and Special Commendation Awards given to officers Brian K.
Seabold, Rafael Vargas and Jennifer D. Parsons for saving a woman from a
burning townhouse April 16.
Life Saving medals awarded to Sgt. Joseph C. Palmer and officers John
B. Davis, Kenneth M. Smith and Karen A. Reed for disarming a suicidal
man who had slashed his wrists with a knife June 6.
Life Saving medals awarded to 911 dispatcher Tanya King, Master
Firefighter James Ingledue and Master Police Officer William L. Mosley
for their parts in rescuing and reviving a child who fell into a
backyard pool on Nov. 1.
A Commendation Award to Gregory M. Werrell, a citizen who, on Nov.
13, caught one of two suspected car thieves police were chasing on
foot.
Life Saving medals awarded to Sgt. Mike Ronan and Master Police
Officer Russell Christe for rescuing a suicidal man from the frigid
ocean near 24th Street on Feb. 22, 1995.
A Certificate of Appreciation from New York City Police Department
detectives, and a Special Commendation Award from Virginia Beach, given
to Sgt. Pat Gough for his help in a New York drug investigation that, in
May, led to 73 indictments against 17 people.
Life Saving medals awarded to Navy SEAL Johnny Holcombe and postal
carrier Gary Lawson for saving a 13-year-old girl who fell through thin
ice Jan. 21, 1994, at a Mount Trashmore lake.
A Meritorious Public Service Award given to Pepe Cabacoy, a community
leader who, working with police, helped many Filipino-American teens get
out of gangs and led the youths to more positive activities.
Silver Crosses awarded to Lt. Dennis Free and Master Police Officer
Kevin Murphy for, on April 29, catching an armed murder suspect who
fatally shot a Food Lion customer.
A Blue Star awarded to Master Police Officer Rock Eason who, while
off duty at a Lynnhaven-area department store Dec. 15, helped catch two
robbery suspects. One suspect struck Eason in the face with a gun.
Special Commendation awards to officers Gregory L. Hayes and Steven
J. Kennedy and a Citizen's Commendation award to private security guard
Robert Barcelona for catching an armed murder suspect who ran, after
shooting a nightclub patron Dec. 16.
A Blue Star awarded to officer Rhonda Bider who, while on bicycle
patrol June 30, was struck by a car and dragged 20 feet. After six
months of rehabilitation, Bider returned to duty.
Two Blue Stars and a Medal of Merit awarded to Master Police Officer
Glenn Edmonson for his 17-year career with the department that ended
after he sustained two serious injuries in the line of duty.
A Blue Star awarded to Master Police Officer Mike Petroski who, while
chasing two suspects across snowy grass Jan. 21, broke his leg in
several places. The injury ended Petroski's police career.
A Special Commendation Award to Chesapeake police officer David L.
Holcombe who, on Nov. 24, arrested a murder suspect who fled from
Virginia Beach.
ILLUSTRATION: Color photo by BILL TIERNAN, Staff
Officer Lacount J. Green, front, wears the Life Saving Medal he
received at Friday's ceremony, while Timothy Vargas, 9, middle,
holds the Special Commendation award given to his father, Rafael, a
police officer. Sgt. Mike Ronan, right, also received a Life Saving
Medal.
KEYWORDS: HERO AWARD by CNB