COMMAND STAFF

Technical Operations Division

Uniform Patrol Division

Commander Scott Bock began his career with the Lake County Sheriff’s Department in 1996. Commander Bock has served as Patrol Officer, Field Training Officer, Patrol Sergeant, K9 Handler, K9 Trainer, Tactical Team Member, Lake County Drug Task Force Sergeant, and Gang Crimes Unit Supervisor.

Commander Bock is a graduate of Edison Sr. High School, enlisted in the United States Navy serving in Desert Shield/Storm (90/91) and in Somalia (93), is a graduate of the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy in Plainfield, Indiana, and is a certified police canine trainer through Vohne Liche Kennels in Denver, Indiana.

 

Deputy Commander Shawn Okeefe is in his 16^th year with the Lake County Sheriff’s Department.  During his time with the Sheriff’s Department, he has served as a Patrol Officer, Gang Intelligence Detective, Narcotics Detective and Supervisor.  He has also served as the Sergeant for the High Crimes Unit, a Tactical Team member and current Team Leader.  Deputy Commander O’Keefe is currently a generalist and Emergency Vehicle Operator instructor. 

Deputy Commander O’Keefe graduated from Merrillville High School before joining the United States Army where he was deployed to Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Deputy Commander O’Keefe was a graduate from the Northwest Indiana Law Enforcement Academy.  He has a Bachelor of Science, majoring in Management, and an Associate of Science in Criminal Justice from Indiana University Northwest. 

 

Deputy Commander John F. Pioch began his career with the Lake County Sheriff’s Department in 1997, where he started as a Correctional Officer, working at The Lake County Jail.

Deputy Commander Pioch was then hired as a Merit Lake County Police Officer in 1999. Deputy Commander Pioch then attended and graduated from The Northwest Indiana Law Enforcement Academy.

Deputy Commander Pioch started his career as a Patrol Officer and served as a Field Training Officer while assigned to the Patrol Division. Deputy Commander Pioch continued working in the Patrol Division after being promoted to the Merit Rank of Sergeant and Lieutenant.

Deputy Commander Pioch has also worked in The Warrant Division and The Civil Division of The Lake County Sheriff’s Department.

Deputy Commander Pioch previously worked for The Hebron Police Department and Graduated from The Indiana Law Enforcement Academy in Plainfield, Indiana.

Deputy Commander Pioch is currently serving The Lake County Police Department in The Uniform Patrol Division, overseeing The Transportation Unit.

 

Criminal Investigation Division

Commander Michael Stewart brings over 17 years of law enforcement experience to the Criminal Investigations Division. After beginning his career with the Hobart Police Department, Commander Stewart joined the Lake County Sheriff’s Department in 2005 to follow in his father’s footsteps, a retired Lake County Police Lieutenant with 26 years of service.

During his career at the Lake County Sheriff’s Department, Commander Stewart has been a member of the Lake County S.W.A.T. Team, has been an active supervisor in the patrol division, and has worked in and supervised both the Gang Intelligence Unit, and the Highway Interdiction Unit.

Commander Stewart is a graduate of Merrillville High School and holds a Bachelor of Arts from Saint Joseph’s College. In addition, Commander Stewart is an honors graduate of Valparaiso University School of Law with the degree of juris doctor, and currently maintains an active license as a member of the Indiana State Bar.

 

Special Victims Unit (SVU)

Drug Task Force

Commander Alfred A. Villarreal has been employed by the LCPD since 2000.   Alfred will be entering his 18th year with the Lake County Sheriff's department in October 2017.   Alfred has served 10 years with the Lake County Drug Task Force.   Alfred has served in the Highway Interdiction unit, Gang Unit, and Narcotics Unit.  Alfred was also assigned to the DEA HIDTA office for 2 years.   Alfred has served in the Lake County Patrol division as a officer and recently as a Sergeant Supervisor.  

Commander Villarreal will be the head of the Highway Interdiction Unit, High Crime-Gang Unit and the Narcotics Division.

Alfred Villarreal is a graduate of Bishop Noll Institute 1995 and a graduate of Indiana University Bloomington 1999 and the Northwest Indiana Law Enforcement Academy.

 

Deputy Commander Tyrone Douglas was sworn in as a member of the Lake County Police Dept. In April of 1988. Initially assigned to the Uniformed Patrol Division, Deputy Commander Douglas served as a Patrol Officer and a K-9 Police Dog Handler for eight years with his K-9 partners “Bart” and “Putz.” Deputy Commander Douglas has served as a Field Training Officer, Patrol Corporal, Patrol Sergeant, and a Patrol Lieutenant. Deputy Commander Douglas Served the citizens of Lake County and the State of Indiana as a Uniformed Patrol Officer for a total of sixteen years.

Deputy Commander Douglas has served the Sheriff’s Department while assigned to the Criminal Investigations Division as a Warrant Service Investigator, Gang Unit Officer as well as a Sex Offender and Violent Crimes Registry Investigator. 

Deputy Commander Douglas has also served the citizens of Lake County as a Civil Division Officer where he executed the court orders of various judicial courts and supervised the activities of other Civil Officers.

Deputy Commander Douglas has worked as a gang, drug, and violent crimes Investigator while assigned to a Federal Task Force for a period of nine and a half years. During that time, Deputy Commander Douglas participated in the investigations of multiple individuals involved in illegal drug trafficking, gang related crimes, homicides, bank robberies, abductions, extortion, and theft.  

Deputy Commander Douglas is a graduate of Roosevelt High School in the City of Gary, Indiana as well as the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy in Plainfield, Indiana.

 

Deputy Commander Christopher Vukin graduated from Merrilliville High School in 1995 and Graduated from Indiana University Northwest in 2000 with a Bachelor Degree in Public Affairs with a concentration in Criminal Justice.  He started his career in law enforcement in 2001 when he worked on a 1 year contract with the U.S. District Attorney's Office as a Crime Analyst.  In 2001 he started his career with the Lake County Sheriff's department as a Corrections Officer in the Lake County Jail.  During his time as a Correctional Officer he was on The Special Operation's Response team.

In 2004, Deputy Commander Vukin was hired onto the Lake County Police Department where he started in the Patrol Division.  A short time after being hired, he was placed onto the Department's K9 team where he worked Patrol K9 Fons until Fons' retirement in 2012.  He then worked with K9 Blade until Blade was shot in the line of duty in 2017 and had to be retired from his injuries.  He now works Tracking/ Patrol K9 Chase and is the Department's lead K9 handler. 

Deputy Commander Vukin has spent 12 years of his career in the Department’s Gang/ High Crime Unit where he was promoted to Sergeant and then to Deputy Commander in 2018. He has also been on the Lake County Sheriff's SWAT team as Sniper 10 years.  His most recent assignment is Deputy Commander of the Lake County Drug Task Force/ High Crime Unit.

 

Tactical Unit

Commander James Stahl

 

Bio coming soon...

 

 

 

 

Civil Division

Commander Vernon Joiner began his law enforcement career in the U.S. Army/ Indiana Army National Guard in 1990. Commander Joiner graduated from Army Basic Training and Military Police School at the former Ft. McClellan, Alabama.

Commander Joiner became a Correctional Officer at Westville Correctional Facility from 1994-1997 before coming to the Lake County Sheriff’s Department as a Correctional Officer. While serving three years in the Correctional Division, he was a member of the Lake County Jail Special Operations Response Team (S.O.R.T.) Commander Joiner was sworn into the Lake County Sheriff’s Department as a Merit officer in 1999. Before coming to the Civil Division, he served as a Patrol Officer, Field Training Officer, Corporal, Patrol Sergeant, Field Training Officer Manager, and Patrol Lieutenant.

Commander Joiner is from Gary, Indiana, and is a Wm. A. Wirt High School graduate. Commander Joiner is a Northwest Indiana Law Enforcement Academy graduate and a Northwestern University School of Police Staff and Command graduate. Commander Joiner is a Generalist Instructor and is currently the team commander of the Lake County Police Honor Guard.

 

Deputy Commander Mario Orueta was born and raised in East Chicago, Indiana. He graduated from East Chicago Central High School in 1991. From East Chicago Central to attending college at Indiana University Bloomington, where he graduated in 1997 with a Bachelor Degree in Criminal Justice. His career in the criminal justice field began in 1996 as a Detention Officer at the Lake County Juvenile Center. In 1998, he moved up the ladder to an Intensive Probation Officer.

In 2001, Deputy Commander Orueta was hired onto the Lake County Sheriff’s Police Department where he started in the Patrol Division. After 4 years on patrol, he was transferred to the Crime Lab as a Crime Lab Technician Detective (CSI). In 2008, he was transferred to the Civil Division as a Detective. He then was transferred to General Assignment in the Detective Bureau as a detective in 2010. In 2013, he was transferred to the Drug Task Force as a Detective in the Gang Unit known today as High Crimes Unit (HCU). Since 2015, he moved to Special Operations where he has spent the last 9 years dividing his time between the Marine Unit and the Patrol Division.

Deputy Commander Orueta was promoted to Sergeant in 2017. Five years later, he was promoted to Lieutenant in 2022. In January 2024, he was promoted to Deputy Commander of the Civil Division.

 

Staff Services Division

Commander John Gruszka began his law enforcement career with the Lake County Sheriff’s Department in 1998.  He recently spent the past 3 years serving the Lake County Sheriff’s Department as the Commander of Criminal Investigations and as the Deputy Commander of Staff Services.  Prior to serving in the command staff, Commander Gruszka spent 14 years in the Special Victim’s Unit where he investigated crimes against children cases, crimes committed by children, domestic related crimes, and sexual assaults.  He is a trained Child Forensic Interview and he has interviewed over 1,000 children who have been sexually and physically abused. 

He grew up in Hammond and attended Morton High School.  He is a graduate of Purdue University Calumet and he obtained a Master’s Degree from Calumet College of St. Joseph’s in Whiting, Indiana.   

He is currently serving the Lake County Police Department as the Commander of the Staff Services Division.