After more than 30 years on the force, Capt. Lonnie Jones put in his last shift at the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office this week.
Jones — who had served as jail commander under sheriffs Mark Casteel and Ryan Needham — retired from the department for the second time Wednesday, capping a tenure that has included pursuing child sex abuse cases and becoming a certified crime scene investigator.
“It’s been a full career,” Jones said, as family members and local public safety workers gathered at the jail for a reception celebrating his service.
Jones oversaw an inmate population that has become younger and larger in numbers over the years, first from the jail on Covington Street and later Memorial Drive.
“So I kind of had to relearn the best techniques to dealing with a younger criminal mindset,” he said.
The Montgomery County native fulfilled a longtime desire to serve on the sheriff’s department when he was hired as a jail officer in 1988. He was then promoted to commander and then spent more than a decade on the road as a patrol deputy.
Later as a detective, Jones carved out a niche investigating sexual abuse of children, which he said he considers his biggest accomplishment. Jones retired the first time in 2007 as a detective sergeant.
Jones was serving as an officer for West Central Community Corrections in 2011 when newly-elected sheriff Casteel asked him to return to the force as jail commander. He remained in the position when Needham became sheriff in 2019.
“His experience is knowledge,” Needham said. “His contacts were just invaluable.”
Jones and his wife have been married for 42 years and they have two children and five grandchildren. Son-in-law Bob Heisel is Waynetown deputy town marshal and a firefighter at Purdue University.
In retirement, he said he plans to spend more time with family.
