CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — There are three Kleberg County jailers who are hoping that by this time next year, they'll be full-fledged deputies after going thru the Del Mar Police Academy.
We met up with the group after their first day in the police academy classroom.
Annella Munoz was thankful that Kleberg county was paying for the academy because she's ready to become a deputy.
"I was going to school for criminal Justice and have my bachelor's degree already so it's just a stepping stone for my career," Munoz said.
Kleberg County Sheriff Richard Kirkpatrick has been struggling with manpower issues since the pandemic. He's hoping the three jailers will not only make it thru the academy but will want to stay as deputies for years to come.
"It is a big problem," said Kirkpatrick. "We have been dealing with this for some time and we've had to get really creative about some of the things that we are doing in terms of stimulating, were encouraging people to get into a law enforcement career and stay there."
Dylan Arredondo is counting down the days until he can leave the jail and start patrolling the county.
"After the six months here it'll be maybe another three or four to do the FTO field training and then after that I'll be a deputy," Arredondo said.
Cadet Silverio Falcon plans on staying in Kingsville until, perhaps, he runs for sheriff one day.
"I plan on staying there for a long time yes, sir," said Falcon.
We then asked him, if he'd eventually someday run for sheriff.
"Uh, as of right now I don't know but you never know what the future holds," he said.
Sheriff Kirkpatrick said that each of the cadets had to sign an agreement that they would stay with the county for two years after they graduate. A return on investment he hopes is beneficial to his department and these cadets.
He also estimated that it costs at least $6,000 to put each cadet through the training program.
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