Sheriff’s Department to Honor 19 for Work

Two men who rescued a Orange County sheriff’s deputy from a burning car and a nurse who helped capture an escaping prison inmate are among 19 people being honored today by the Orange County Sheriff’s Department at its Medal of Valor luncheon.

The eighth annual awards ceremony recognizes law enforcement officers who have solved difficult cases or displayed unusual courage in the line of duty. For the first time, the Sheriff’s Department also will confer a medal on a private citizen.

Michelle Daleo, a nurse at Western Medical Center-Anaheim, will receive the first Citizen’s Recognition Award for pursuing a prison inmate who had fled the hospital. Nelson Joo, a Los Angeles firefighter, and Kevin Leahy, an Orange County marshal, will be cited for their courage in rescuing a sheriff’s deputy from a car just before it exploded.

And another Medal of Courage will go to Deputy Joseph Balicki for risking danger to save a motorist’s life. Balicki was honored in 1995 for pursuing a parolee who had shot at other officers.

Lt. Tim Carney will be awarded a Medal of Merit for work that led to a first-degree murder conviction of a man who had poisoned his wife with cyanide.

Investigators Christine Murray and Leo Vandor will be honored for their around-the-clock investigation into the death of a 14-year-old boy; and Deputy Yvonne Shull for bringing national recognition to the Orange County Sheriff’s Department for her work with the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Eleven Sheriff’s Department employees will receive Medals of Lifesaving for resuscitating seven people who had stopped breathing. They are deputies Cindi Coppock, Christopher Devendorf, Richard Fassel, Gary Logalbo, Richard Nelson, Robert Peterson and Brian Sims; special officers Lee Acosta, Shawn Tangard and Sonja Zamaitat; and Sgt. Russell Moore.

Information: (714) 647-1817.