Sheriff’s Office Ramps Up Drug Arrests

By Gordon Hopkins An increase in drug busts in Jefferson County in recent months has not gone unnoticed either by local officials or the public at large. According to Jefferson County Sheriff Nick Georgi, this is not due to an increase in drug traffic but rather to the initiative of deputies. “We got a very proactive group of deputies right now, so they’re staying busy,” the sheriff reported to Jefferson County Commissioners at a meeting Tuesday morning, April 9, 2024. Jail As a result of the increased arrests, the jail is at capacity and some inmates are being kept in other facilities. “Our jail is completely full right now,” said the sheriff. “We’ve got two in Dawson County. We got one in Saline County. We’ve got two in Lincoln, at D and E (Diagnostic and Evaluation Center at the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services) and one at the Regional Center. We are very, very, very full.”Sheriff Georgi noted, “Ninety percent of them are all drug arrests.” Drugs continue to be a grave concern to county officials. Despite the complications of a full jail, county commissioner Mark Schoenrock said, “Well, I would say it’s a good problem. Get them off the streets and clean it up.” The sheriff said, “We do have some sentencings coming up in the next few weeks so, hopefully, we’ll get rid of some, get our numbers back down.” The jail population is impacted by the difference between misdemeanors versus felonies. Misdemeanor offenses that result in incarceration are usually housed in jails, while felonies result in prison time.The sheriff noted that a number of the recent arrests are repeat offenders. Commissioner Michael Dux said, “It seems like they never learn.” Schoenrock said, “Nick, I want to pass on. I’ve heard from a fair number of people, their gratitude for your efforts to clean up the drugs. We get some pretty good busts recently and just want to say thank you for those efforts to get this cleaned up.” Sheriff Georgi said, “I gotta give it all to the deputies. Like I said, we got a group of young guys that are pretty proactive.” Law Enforcement Committee The sheriff gave a similar report to the City of Fairbury’s Law Enforcement Committee on February 13 of this year. “We had a lot of drug arrests this past quarter. I got a young group of guys that are working on a drug cases in the county and in town,” the sheriff said. “State Patrol has been out and helping us do a lot of those cases.” Sheriff Georgi added, “In my opinion, that’s our biggest problem, and that’s what we’re focusing on.”The sheriff believes that, by reducing drug crime, other types of crime also see a reduction, “I think that helps cut down on your thefts, too.” Drug Trafficking According to the sheriff, the local drug problem is not entirely homegrown. He told the Law Enforcement Committee, “We get one of the big players, they end up moving on. We get them enough times, and we move them out. But it just seems like someone comes to town and slides into their place.” One thing that has changed in recent years is that methamphetamine is no longer manufactured in the county. Instead, it is being brought in from outside. Sheriff Georgi said, “No one around here makes meth anymore.”

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