A special ceremony held Thursday evening at the Ceres Community Center saw the swearing-in of new Ceres Police officers and the promotion of a department veteran to the rank of sergeant.
The occasion also allowed Ceres Police Chief Rick Collins to introduce a number of new employees, including four dispatchers, a records clerk and a code enforcement officer.
New sergeant promotion
Trinidad Viramontes, who became a sworn officer in Ceres on Feb. 21, 2002, was promoted to sergeant as of Jan. 5. He previously served as a field training officer, traffic officer, detective, SWAT Assistant Team Leader and instructor in defensive tactics, taser use, less lethal force techniques and the use of chemical agents.
In his off time Viramontes enjoys time with his children and running races, including 5Ks and 10Ks and half-marathons.
Attending the ceremony were his son Logan and daughter Maxine who pinned on his sergeant’s badge; and his mother, three sisters, girlfriend and her two daughters.
Six new officers take oath
Six new Ceres Police officers were introduced – Juan Ramos, Jordan Justice, Charles Lord Huff and Samuel Garcia. Newly hired officers Angelina Valenzuela, Jacob Valenzuela were unable to be present.
Juan Ramos
Ceres Police Department hired Officer Juan “Manny” Ramos on Feb. 5. Born in Fallbrook and raised in Ceres, playing multiple including on a traveling soccer team with the Ceres Earthquakes and Modesto Ajax, Manny is a graduate of Ceres High School. He spent a year as a correctional officer at the Stanislaus County Jail and two years with Los Banos Police.
Ramos is the brother of Mercedes Wallace, the widow of slain Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Deputy Dennis Wallace. Ramos takes pride in being an avid do-it-yourselfer.
For fun he enjoys attending concerts and stand-up comedy shows. He also trains in Jiu Jitsu.
Joining him for the event were wife America, daughter Vanessa and grandson Zeppelin who ceremonially pinned on his officer’s badge.
Jordan Justice
Jordan Justice came to Ceres Police on March 27 from Stockton Police Department. Stockton born, he was living in Modesto until he was 10 when his parents moved him to Ceres. Justice graduated from Central Valley High School and attended Modesto Junior College.
In his spare time, Jordan enjoys playing video games and time with his family. He used to play baseball and referee soccer – reaching the professional level of a soccer referee.
Wife Alicia and two-year old son Alexander pinned on his police badge with six-month old daughter Valentina in tow. The ceremony was also attended by his mother and Alicia’s family.
Charles Lord-Huff
Charles “Chuck” Lord-Huff was hired by Ceres Police Department on May 15. He previously spent two years with the Atwater Police Department and 18 months with the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Office.
Lord-Huff was born and raised in Atwater and graduated from Atwater High School.
Wife Lauren and daughter McKinley and his two stepsons, Sean and Liam attended the ceremony. Also attending was his parents, his in-laws and his brother Samuel who is a Clovis police officer.
Hunting, fishing, playing baseball and riding a unicycle are among his favorite pastimes.
Samuel Garcia
Samuel Garcia is the department’s newest officer, having officially been sworn in on July 10. He previously worked as a California Highway Patrolman.
Born in Paramount, Sam lived in Whittier until the second grade when the family moved to Merced. He graduated from Buhach Colony High School in Atwater and attended Merced Junior College.
Garcia’s decision to enter law enforcement was influenced by his mother, Melissa who was a correctional officer in Atwater and now a Regional Correctional Specialist in Texas. His step-father, Keith, is a retired Special Investigative Agent for the Bureau of Prisons.
Sam and wife Mercedes have a two-year old son, Noah.
In his spare time, Sam enjoys spending time with his son.
He also enjoys physical activities, especially weightlifting, and cooking different types of foods.
Attending the ceremony were his wife, son and mother, who flew out from Texas for the event, along with 26 other family members and friends.
He was pinned by his wife, son and mother.
Husband and wife cops
February 5 was also the first day on the job for Ceres Police officers Jacob Valenzuela and wife Angelina Valenzuela.
Jacob was born in San Jose and raised in Turlock where he graduated from Turlock High School. He attended college in Colorado and then served in the Army for five years, stationed at Fort Carson, Colo. After leaving the military, he joined the Police Department in Westminster Colo., where he spent five years.
He enjoys spending time with his family, including both boys who are in wrestling and the oldest plays football. He also enjoys hunting and fishing.
The couple has two boys, aged six and 10.
Angelina Valenzuela was born and raised in Turlock and Hilmar and graduated from Hilmar High School before studying at Stanislaus State in Turlock. While in the Army she was stationed at Fort Carson, Colo. where she was an Aviation Operation Specialist. After leaving the military, she joined the Northglenn, Colorado Police Department.
Besides spending time with family, she is an avid hunter and loves other outdoor activities.
The ceremony gave Chief Collins a chance to introduce other new employees. They are Records Clerk Giovana Pineda, dispatchers Loreal Ahart, Desirae Freese, Lorri Julien and Gerardo Ortiz and code enforcement officer Jack Taylor.
Giovana Pineda
Giovana Pineda was hired as Records Clerk on Sept. 30, 2019. She was born and raised in Redwood City but moved to the Modesto/Ceres area over 13 years ago. She graduated from Beyer High School.
She is married with two children, ages 10 and 13.
In her free time Pineda enjoys bowling, family game nights, yoga, photography and cycling classes.
Loreal Ahart
Dispatcher Loreal Ahart was hired on May 22, 2022 after five years as a dispatcher for AMR Ambulance.
She was raised in Ceres and attended Central Valley High School as part of the first class when it had freshly opened. She attended POST Dispatch training at Evergreen College in San Jose.
She and husband Josh Ahart enjoy their two Frenchies named Obi and Thor, and a Husky. Giovana also likes spending time with family and friends, trying new foods, watching sporting events and documentaries.
Jack Taylor
Code Enforcement Officer Jack Taylor came to the Ceres Police Department on Nov. 10. He has been retired from Modesto Police Department where he was on patrol, the motorcycle unit and Major Crash Investigations until his retirement.
Anaheim born, Jack was raised in Oakdale and Modesto and graduated from Ceres High School. He attended MJC and CSUS where he obtained a BA with honors.
Taylor spent four years in the Army, assigned to the Mechanized Artillery Unit.
Law enforcement is a big part of Taylor’s family. His dad was a Los Angeles Police and CHP officer, retiring as a Community Service Officer for Modesto Police. Two uncles also were officers for the Anaheim Police.
Jack and wife Staci have four daughters, a granddaughter and a grandson. They enjoy traveling with family to Disney resorts, attending his daughters’ sporting events and fishing.
Desirae Freese
Desirae Freese was hired as a dispatcher on Dec. 26.
She was born in San Jose and graduated from Dos Palos High School. She worked for four years as a dispatcher with AMR and is married to a Stanislaus County Sheriff’s deputy.
Gerardo Ortiz
Dispatcher Gerardo Ortiz III started the job on July 24.
Born in Burlingame and raised in Redwood City, Ortiz graduated from Woodside High School where he spent his junior and senior years attending Canada College as part of the Middle College Program. He also spent 3 ½ years as a cadet with the Redwood City Police Department.
Before coming to the United States in 1970, his grandfather was part of the Mexican military police.
Gerardo enjoys drawing, reading, listening to music, astronomy and history.
Lorri Julien
Lorri Julien is Ceres Police’s newest dispatcher and officially started August 15.
She was born and raised in Ethel, Mississippi where she graduated high school with honors. When she was 21 Lorri came to California to become a dispatcher at the Geneva Towers Housing projects for the City of San Francisco.
In 1996 Julien became a dispatcher for the University of San Francisco Police Department. Eleven years later she took on a supervisory role in the Department of Parking and Traffic Division with the City and County of San Francisco where she mentored dispatchers for the past 17 years.
Now living in Modesto, she and husband Craig have three children, Christopher, Princess and Jakari. She is very proud of her daughter-in-law, Yasmin, her son-in-law, Camilo, and her three grandchildren, Chris Jr., Dylan and Mia.
Besides spending time with family, Lorri enjoys traveling, reading, cooking and serving her community and actively participating in St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church.
Ceres Police Department will hold another promotion ceremony on Aug. 24.
