THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, September 15, 1996 TAG: 9609130243
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 22 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY SUSIE STOUGHTON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SUFFOLK LENGTH: 83 lines
Nine new officers joined the Suffolk Police Department on Sept. 12.
The recruits include seven men and two women. Only two are from distant areas, while five are natives of Hampton Roads and one is from Ahoskie, N.C.
The department received 127 applications for the nine vacancies. Five of the new positions were funded through a federal program that pays part of the officers' salaries and benefits for three years.
The recruits will train with veteran officersin the detective bureau, the uniform division and administration. In November they will begin a five-month police academy.
Starting salary for the officers is $24,183.
The following officers started working last week:
Joseph P. Askew Jr., 23, an Ahoskie, N.C., native and resident.
He is a graduate of Hertford High School and received a bachelor's degree in criminal justice from East Carolina University. Askew has worked at Union Camp Corp. and for a boat manufacturing company.
Deborah Ann Benavidez, 25, is a Portsmouth native.
She lives in Chesapeake with her husband, John, and their 3-year-old daughter.
Benavidez has worked at various clothing and variety stores in Texas.
James D. Buie, 31, is a Michigan native.
He is a graduate of the former John Yeates High School in Suffolk and has worked at several jobs, most recently as a life underwriter for an insurance company.
He lives with his 11-year-old son in Chesapeake.
Shane M. Everett, 22, was born in Newport News and lives in the Sleepy Hole section of Suffolk.
A graduate of Nansemond River High School, he is attending Old Dominion University, pursuing a bachelor's degree in criminal justice.
Everett has worked in his father's business, National Roofing Inc.
Jerald L. Hobbs, 26, is a Norfolk native.
He is a graduate of Forest Glen High School and has taken college courses.
He and his wife, Corri, have been living in Richmond, where he has been working for Haynes Furniture.
Christopher S. Kinsey, 30, is a Suffolk native.
He is a graduate of Forest Glen High School and ITT Technical Institute in Norfolk, where he received an associate's degree in electronics. He has been an integrated weapons branch tech in the Navy.
He is married to Heather Kinsey.
William T. Mitchell Jr., 24, is a Portsmouth native.
He lives in Chesapeake.
He is a graduate of Great Bridge High School and has worked as a security officer for American International Security Specialist in Virginia Beach. He was in the Marine Corps for four years, earning a number of certificates of achievement for courses he took.
Kym I. Pinner, 25, is a Wilkes-Barre, Pa., native.
She is a graduate of Dallas Junior/Senior High School and Lackawanna Junior College in Scranton, Pa., with a certificate in police officer education and training. She is a certified EMT basic.
She was in the Coast Guard, receiving an honorable discharge after a little over a year.
She lives in Hampton Roads with her husband, Matthew B. Pinner.
Andre D. Sparks, 31, was born in Portsmouth.
He is a graduate of the former I.C. Norcom High School in Portsmouth and served in the Army for 11 years.
He has a 12-year-old son.
He has worked with the Portsmouth Schools at the Tidewater Regional Alternative School and at I.C. Norcom as a security officer. ILLUSTRATION: Photos
Joseph P. Askew Jr.
Deborah Ann Benavidez
James D. Buie
Shane M. Everett
Jerald L. Hobbs
Christopher S. Kinsey
William T. Mitchell Jr. by CNB