Top Supervisor Award
Steven Lowell Sylvies Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Top Supervisor Award
Tackling community issues is a large part of Sergeant Steven Lowell Sylvies of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s Lancaster Station.
Sergeant Sylvia recently completed service of supervisor of “Operation Silent Thunder”, an eighteen month task force effort between Sheriff’s Department and the United States Drug Enforcement Administration. The purpose of “Operation Silent Thunder” was to closely observe persons and locations identified by investigators, for the purpose of corroborative information. Their ability to corroborate information was essential to he success of affidavits for wiretaps and search/arrest warrants.
This key component to the operation was what substantially dismantled a complex narcotics empire. The leaders of the six working methamphetamine cells were subsequently arrested. Two of the leaders are said to be responsible for multiple murders and other violent crimes.
In total 300 arrests were made during the length of the investigation. Eighty-seven percent of the arrestees had prior criminal histories, seventy-two percent were on active parole or probation. Most were associated with organizations promoting and practicing white supremacist ideologies. In addition, huge quantities of narcotics, more than five hundred firearms, explosives, over one half million dollars in currency and two dozen working methamphetamine labs were seized.
For Sergeant Sylvies and his team, this was a difficult operation made only more difficult by the expensive rural and flat desert area of the Antelope Valley. The working hours for his team were unpredictable and dictated by the activities of the suspects. More commen than not, team members would go off-duty and have to go back on surveillance within a short period of time.
Secretary of State Collin Powell has said that a positive attitude is force multiplier. Sergeant Sylvies lives this philosophy daily.
Santa Clara County has enjoyed the rare privilege of having an administrator whom “never forgot his roots”.
