Jason Goins named undersheriff of Merced County Sheriff’s Office

Jason Goins, a 22-year veteran of the Merced County Sheriff’s Office, has been tabbed to take over the No. 2 position, the Merced Sun-Star has learned.

Sheriff Vern Warnke confirmed Goins’ appointment as undersheriff in a telephone interview Friday afternoon. Goins will be sworn in Monday morning.

“He’s one of those guys that always gets whatever job he’s doing done correctly,” Warnke said. “Jason is a really good fit for me and for the department, and I expect him to be a huge asset to the county.”

Goins, 44, said he was “excited and proud” to have been selected by Warnke for the position.

“We spoke (Friday) morning and he let me know what his expectations are, and I know we share the same goals and vision for the department,” Goins said. “We want to be very responsive to the needs of the citizens of the community and to the deputies and staff of the office.”

Goins said he hopes to help the sheriff fill the nearly two dozen vacancies in the department.

“We all want to have all the deputies on the streets as soon as possible,” Goins said.

Tom Cavallero, the current undersheriff and former sheriff, will stay on for the time being to help the office transition with various staff changes, Warnke said.

Deputy Dave Alvey will take over Goins’ current position as a lieutenant of the Merced County Corrections Division. Sgt. Steve Sziraki was also promoted to lieutenant of the Operations Department, officials confirmed.

Goins has been the lieutenant of corrections since 2012, helping to oversee the county’s two jails and court security. He has been described as instrumental in helping the county transition with responsibilities and trainings that came with the state’s Public Safety Realignment Act.

Realignment, a mandate of Assembly Bill 109, transferred responsibility for “nonviolent, nonsexual and nonserious” criminals from the state’s prisons and parole offices to the county-level jails and probation departments. The complicated and controversial legislation was part of the state’s response to a court order to reduce the state’s overcrowded prisons.

From 2002 to 2012, Goins served as patrol sergeant, coroner’s office supervisor and detective sergeant, according to information from the Sheriff’s Office.

During his time as head of the detective division from 2005 to 2011, Merced County reported one of the highest clearance rates for solving violent crimes in the region. Investigators consistently solved more than 70 percent of all cases, nearly double the statewide average during that same time, according to statistics from the California Justice Department.

The detective unit was particularly successful during Goins’ tenure in 2010, when the major crimes unit cleared 13 of the county’s 15 homicides, according to those numbers.

Goins also spent nine years as a deputy from 1993 to 2002 and held the titles of field training officer, detective and narcotics task force agent. He began his career in 1989 as a police officer in Dos Palos.

Goins earned a bachelor of science degree in criminal justice management and a graduate certificate in criminal justice education from the University of Virginia. He graduated in 2012 from the FBI National Academy, a three-month professional-development course for U.S. and international law enforcement leaders.

Goins has two children, Aaron and Paige, and is married to Sara Sandrik, an anchor for KFSN’s “ABC 30 Action News,” which shares office space with the Sun-Star.

This story was originally published October 2, 2015 at 4:01 PM with the headline "Jason Goins named undersheriff of Merced County Sheriff’s Office."