Merced County Undersheriff to retire at end of March. Who is going to succeed him?

A veteran detective who most recently served as undersheriff to Merced County Sheriff Vern Warnke is stepping down the end of March — saying a new leader has already been chosen to take the reins.

Jason Goins, who has been undersheriff since 2015 and served in law enforcement for three decades, will be retiring March 27. He will be succeeded by Capt. Corey Gibson on March 29 — creating a seamless transition between his retirement and Gibson’s promotion.

Gibson first started with the department as a reserve deputy in 1997, and has risen through the ranks since.

“I was successful in my career (due to) the people that surround me. I can’t say there is just one person that stands out. I’ve enjoyed working with everybody here — I have zero regrets and it was a great career,” Goins told the Sun-Star on Tuesday.

The job of undersheriff, regarded as the department’s second-in-command next to sheriff, is a 24/7 role — overseeing and directing the department’s day-to-day operations as an executive administrative leader.

Goins’ career in law enforcement has spanned 32 years, 27 of which have been with the Merced County Sheriff’s Office. “Thirty-two years as a peace officer and I’m fortunate enough I can retire at the age of 50,” Goins said.

But Goins will not be leaving the Merced County Sheriff’s Office completely. He will be staying on at the agency as a reserve deputy available to assist when needed in various capacities.

He also plans to start his own consulting and investigation business, serving as a third party investigator for agencies that may experience a conflict of interest, or need to investigate personnel matters.

Goins said he looks forward to spending time with his family and traveling after the pandemic. His son Aaron joined the Merced County Sheriff’s Office as a corrections officer in 2014 and is currently working as a detective.

Westside roots

Born and raised in Los Banos, Goins said his grandfather was a retired California Highway Patrol officer out of Los Banos.

Goins’ life in law enforcement began as a Los Banos Explorer Cadet for three years.

He knew law enforcement was in his blood from his first time in a patrol car with then Los Banos police officer Gregg Wilson.

The first call he and Wilson went on was an emergency with lights and sirens. “I knew at that point that was it. That is what I wanted to do,” Goins said.

After graduating from Los Banos High, he attended the Merced College reserve officer academy and studied criminal justice management at Union Institute and University in Sacramento. He began his full time law enforcement career as a Dos Palos police officer in April 1989.

Goins chuckled as he recalled being an 18-year-old officer — and having to go into bars to do checks, respond to domestic disturbance calls and essentially communicate effectively with people who were much older.

“When I started, I was not even old enough to buy a gun or buy bullets,” Goins recalled.

“There was no cell phones, there was no computers in the cars. Everything was by map – it was very different than how law enforcement is today.”

Goins was hired by the Merced County Sheriff’s Office in September 1993. He spent nine years as a deputy until 2002 when he was promoted to sergeant.

Goins said he served in roles like patrol sergeant, detective-sergeant and for a brief time as coroner sergeant until being promoted to lieutenant of corrections in 2012. He served in that position until being named undersheriff in 2015.

Prior to his promotion to lieutenant, then-Merced County Sheriff Mark Pazin selected Goins to attend the FBI National Academy, which he graduated from in 2012. Goins said he also took post graduate classes at the University of Virginia.

Having spent more than half of his career as an investigator, Goins is most proud of his time as a detective-sergeant when he was head of the Sheriff’s Office detective division from 2005 to 2011.

In that role, Goins said he ran investigations and the division recorded one of the highest clearance rates in the state.

Goins said he has drawn from others and what they have done during his time in the law enforcement profession.

He expressed that it’s been a pleasure and honor working alongside the men and women at the Sheriff’s Office and the county. “I’m going to miss it,” he said.

According to Merced County Spokesperson Mike North, Goins will retire from the undersheriff position with a salary of $155,251.

North said there was an open recruitment process to select the new undersheriff. The recruitment was open to the public and anyone could apply. Applicants had to meet minimum qualifications.

This story was originally published February 24, 2021 at 5:00 AM.