Law Enforcement MSO Employee and Deputy of the Month

BRADENTON – In January 2012, Detective Martin Harrington recognized a trend of fraudulent use of electronic benefits transfer (EBT) cards and initiated a large scale investigation dubbed Operation Meal Ticket. He recruited Detective Jeremy Martin and conducted over seventy (70) individual transactions that resulted in 53 persons arrested on charges that included social welfare fraud and felony drug charges. The investigation involved cooperation between local, state and federal agencies and countless hours of hard work for a successful conclusion. Their work continues as you prepare for the prosecution in these cases.

For their initiative to target this criminal activity and plan and execute an operation against it, Detectives Martin Harrington and Jeremy Martin are awarded Manatee County Sheriff's Office Deputy of the Month for October 2012.

On September 6, 2012, Child Protection Specialists Kaitlyn Arnold and Alicia Habib were assigned a case alleging an infant was in the home where a mother and other women were prostituting, men were coming and going and there was drug activity at the residence. Alicia and Kaitlyn commenced the case with Bradenton Police and visited the home. When they arrived, there were men there, one holding a large amount of cash, but the home was clean and the child appeared to be well. Still concerned about the child, they continued to work with Bradenton Police. BPD set up an undercover operation that targeted the prostitution activity and the mother was arrested.

For their cooperative efforts that removed this child from an unsafe environment, Kaitlyn Arnold and Alicia Habib are awarded Manatee County Sheriff's Office Employee of the Month for October 2012.