Smith County Sheriff’s Detective Theresa Smith was honored in Commissioners Court Tuesday, April 28, for 20 years of service.
She is currently assigned to the Criminal Investigation Division, Crimes against Person’s Unit.
Sheriff Larry Smith called her a “truly dedicated, never-say-quit detective” who has trained many other detectives. She is an expert in cell phone mapping, helping several other agencies on cases.
“She has built an outstanding reputation,” he said.
Detective Smith started out working as a detention officer in 2006. She processed inmates, maintained jail security and transported inmates.
In 2008, she was sent to the Tyler Junior College Police Academy and received her basic peace officer’s license. In 2009, she was reassigned to the Smith County Sheriff’s Office Patrol Division.
“I handled calls for service,” Detective Smith said. “Covered a section with complete responsibility for the assigned area. I established rapport with residents and businesses. Followed up on crime patterns and unusual occurrences.”
While working in the Patrol Division she was presented with the Life Saving Bar
and Rookie of the Year Awards in 2010. She also received a Medal of Heroism from the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution.
In 2013, she was reassigned to the Criminal Investigation Division, working in the Crimes Against Children Unit. After two years there, she moved to the Crimes Against Person’s Unit.
“I investigate domestic violence, sexual assaults, sexual assaults of children, injury to a child, murders, capital murders, robberies and harassments,” she said.
Since 2014, she has been a part of more than 25 homicide investigations, which have all been solved.
“I am known in my unit to have created new and updated search and arrest warrants, along with obtaining search warrants for almost every major case in the last 13 years,” she said. “The search warrants I have created are now being used throughout state and federal agencies.”
Since being a detective, she has received several awards.
They include:
Sheriff’s Achievement Award, 2015
Unit Commendation Award for Crimes against Person’s Unit, 2016
Tyler Sunrise Rotary Club “Service Above Self” Vocational Service Detective of the Year Award, 2017
Unit Commendation Award for Crimes against Person’s Unit, 2019
Criminal Investigation Division Detective of the Quarter, 2021
Detective Anthony D. Broyles “Gentle Giant” Award, 2022
ADDITIONAL SERVICE RECOGNITIONS
Several other Smith County employees are celebrating work anniversaries but were not in Commissioners Court on Tuesday.
Bryce Hatton celebrated 35 years with the Sheriff’s Office.
In 1991, he started working in the jail at age 22. He was promoted to night shift corporal for a year, then sergeant in 1996. He was promoted to patrol deputy in 2003, then patrol sergeant in 2013.
“The Sheriff’s Department has been like a family to me,” he said. “I have met a lot of good people over the years. Most of the citizens of Smith County like and appreciate what we do and have always been behind us. The county has changed by leaps and bounds for the better through the last 35 years.”
Tandrea Baxter is celebrating 25 years of service as an official court reporter.
“I was hired by retired County Court-at-Law 3 Judge Floyd Getz in 2001, where I was the official reporter for almost 22 years.”
After Getz’s retirement, she transitioned to the newly established 475th District Court in 2023, where she now works for District Judge Taylor Heaton. She is currently serving as president of the Texas Court Reporters Association.
“What I like most about working for the county and the 475th is the teamwork, constant encouragement, and support I have received from Judge Heaton and my colleagues as I represent my association and Smith County,” she said.
Other employees celebrating work anniversaries include:
10 Years: Larry Fritz, Road and Bridge Department; Ulices Juarez, Sheriff’s Office
5 Years: Charlotte Turner, Adult Probation; Mayra Anda, County Clerk’s Office; Charles Norman, Road and Bridge Department; and Alexis Allen, Sheriff’s Office
