The Washington County Sheriff's Office is proud to celebrate 175 years of honorary service to our community here in the beautiful Pacific Northwest.  As we reflect on our recent accomplishments and work to strategically plan our path to the future, we're particularly proud of our dedicated team with incredibly rare and technical skill sets. It is these individuals who have challenged us to think outside of the traditional box and consider new technologies that help us build the safest urban county in Oregon. The following three articles highlight some of our latest technologies and innovations.

Our Law Enforcement Technology Unit works hard to develop innovative and new strategies to fight crime. This group of tech savvy individuals has created a cutting-edge facial recognition system that is gaining national accolades. The new technology identifies facial measurements which assists with locating suspects in criminal investigations from surveillance videos by analyzing those images against 300,000 past mug shots and booking photos. This technology will also help with the WCSO Help Me Home program, a voluntary enrollment program for individuals who have become lost and have difficulty communicating vital information about themselves.

We continue to leverage technology in order to keep Washington County's only jail safe and secure for staff, inmates and the public. Last summer, our jail installed a full body scanner as a way to prevent drugs and other dangerous items from entering secured areas. The Washington County Jail team is particularly proud of the lengths it took to become the first in the Pacific Northwest to use the device and the first non-medical site approved for x-ray scanning by the State of Oregon.  Simultaneously, the jail has completed a camera upgrade, leaving the Law Enforcement Center (LEC) in Hillsboro with three times as many cameras than originally installed around the LEC complex. The new Internet Protocol based cameras provide clarity and zoom capabilities that are beneficial both inside the secure jail perimeter as well as on the exterior of the building. 

Our bait package program continues to curb thefts in Washington County. The 2017 holiday season resulted in another successful year with the Bait Package Program, including several arrests and recovery of stolen mail. Our communities are strongly supportive and thankful for this program, pushing WCSO to national media coverage. Detective Patrick Altiere, who has been assigned to oversee the bait package program since 2015, believes without this innovative program, package thefts could increase up to 20 percent over the holiday seasons. The WCSO Property Crimes Unit is currently exploring the option of a year-round hybrid deployment model for similar programs, including bait cars, power tools and bicycles. 

In late January, WCSO detectives began investigating a report that an Aloha man had been sexually abusing two young girls over the course of several years. Detectives identified the suspect as 32-year-old Kenneth M. Garcia. During the investigation, detectives learned that Mr. Garcia was a school bus driver employed by Student Transportation of America in Tigard. Mr. Garcia's bus route included Durham Elementary School and Hazelbrook Middle School in the Tigard-Tualatin School District. His employer suspended him without pay when they learned of the investigation. On February 23, an arrest warrant was obtained and Mr. Garcia was taken into custody. Detectives would like to hear from any other potential victims or anyone with information about this case. Please call 503-846-2500.

On March 13, WCSO deputies responded to an apartment complex at 18700 SW Farmington Road in Aloha concerning a reported assault. When deputies arrived, they found a 42-year old man in his apartment with several stab wounds. The man was transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The suspect was identified as 33 year-old Matthew Erb who fled the scene prior to the deputies' arrival. Deputies began searching for the suspect who reportedly ran from the apartment. A Beaverton Police K-9 assisted in the search but all efforts were initially unsuccessful. The Washington County Violent Crimes Unit and Forensics Science Unit responded to assist with the investigation. Mr. Erb was eventually discovered by an alert detective at a bus stop at SW 198th Avenue and SW Farmington Road. He was quickly arrested without further incident.

Investigation Discovery's "On the Case with Paula Zahn" recently aired a true crime documentary about the tragic 2014 murder of Nicole Laube outside a Cedar Mill apartment complex in Washington County. Watch and learn how retired WCSO Detective Jim George worked tirelessly to catch a murderer and bring closure to a grieving family. The episode is scheduled to play a handful of times on Investigation Discovery over the next few weeks and can be watched in full through Youtube or the Investigation Discovery website.

The following people are wanted for committing crimes. Do not approach them. If you see them or have information to share with law enforcement, please call non-emergency dispatch at 503-629-0111. See more Most Wanted subjects on our website.