President Jamie Mitchell presided over the meeting. Mike McPhail gave today’s invocation. Steven Utroska led us in the Pledge of Allegiance. Thanks to Jamie Mitchell and Shane Germany who served as our greeters today.
Brandon Hodges reported that Allen Anderson has Kyle Napier as his guest today. Bill McLeod has Bob Marshall and Kathy Sullivan as his guests today. Cole Gressett has Charlie Lewis as his guest today.
Our thanks to Lamar County Sheriff Danny Rigel for providing our program on Tuesday.
Sheriff Rigel is pictured with President Jamey Mitchell and Erin Granberry.
Brandon Hodges reported that Allen Anderson has Kyle Napier as his guest today. Bill McLeod has Bob Marshall and Kathy Sullivan as his guests today. Cole Gressett has Charlie Lewis as his guest today.
Denny Bubrig announced that hats and shirts that have not yet been picked up are going up for sale. Anyone who wants to purchase apparel should get with Denny soon. He also noted that the club plans to sell fresh fruit cases for the holidays. It was noted that every club member needs to be responsible for selling his or her share. The money raised from the undertaking will be used to support the club and community and charity causes.
Shane Germany announced that the Piney Woods Pine Trust has announced the opening of a Leaf River blue way. It is now open to anyone who wishes to use the natural resource from Highway 42 up into Jones county. He asked anyone using the blue way to help keep it cleaner when you leave that it was when you came.
Erin Granberry introduced today’s guest speaker, Lamar County Sheriff, Denny Rigel. Danny graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi in 1982 and became a Hattiesburg Police Officer until 2002. He was then elected as the Lamar County Sheriff in 2003 and continues to serve in that capacity. He is a Biloxi native.
Sheriff Rigel’s topic today isn’t about Lamar County law enforcement, but rather about Police Composite Art which is a technique used by police to develop a picture of a suspect based on a witness description. He says the drawings are never exact and depend entirely on the witness’s recall of the suspect and the artist’s ability to ask the right questions to better develop the victim’s recall. Most composite drawings require three to four hours, but some take days. He noted that memory improves a couple of days after being a victim of a crime. They often try to give victims time to get over their fright and the tensions of the crime. He says children make the best witnesses.
Mr. Rigel was accepted into the FBI Academy in 1985. He was one of 20 students accepted. The FBI Academy accepts 20 students into the program twice annually. When he graduated he was FBI certified as a composite artist and was the only one in a three-state area.
His first case after graduation from the Academy was a Jones County rape case. Although composite drawings are just one small piece of a much larger investigation, Danny believes his work helped police solve the case. When a composite drawing is used in a court case and the person charged is convicted, the composite remains property of the court.
Sheriff Rigel shared a number of his drawings along side photographs of the people arrested and charged in the case. He notes that the likeness he is able to depict depends on his tools, artist ability, and training. He depends mostly on a witness’s recall ability.
Jamie thanked today’s speakers and adjourned the meeting with your motto, service above self.