Trooper
Continued from page 64
amount of family contact and in-
" teraction necessary with the fami-
lies of the victims," said Marvel
during his acceptance speech,
April 25, at the state police 2002
awards ceremony in the Dover
Downs Convention Center.
"At times this was extremely
difficult due to the nature of the
investigation and from the frustra-
tions felt both by the family and
myself. However, I can remember
the great feeling that I had when I
called the family of the victims
and told them that an arrest of the
three individuals suspected of
these crimes had been made and
that the body of John Charbon-
neau hadfinally been recovered -
to give some type of closure to the
family." \\;
Marvel attribute! not only his
own successes but also those of
his colleagues to the support his
former commander, Capt. Robert
Hawkins, and his current com-
mander, Lt. John Evans. Hawkins
was particularly instrumental in
supporting Marvel when he re-
opened cold cases, and Evans was
especially supportive and encour-
aging during the
Charbonneau/Sproates ease.
After serving as a patrol officer
for five years, Marvel joined the
Evidence Technician Unit at
Troop 4. From there he trans-
ferred to the Homicide Unit,
where he has served for the past
six years.
Troop 7 officers lauded
In addition to the Trooper of the
Year honor, the division also rec-
ognized achievements of five
civilians and numerous troopers
statewide. Several local officers
were among those honored.
Cpl. Rusty Parker and Cpl. Lar-
ry Smith of Troop 7 earned the
Exceptional Performance Award.
That award is bestowed on troop-
ers "who perform significantly
above what would be expected in
an area or event that is within his
or her normal realm of responsi-
bilities."
Parker and Smith went to a gas
station on Route 1 in December
2002, to arrest an employee who
was the prime suspect in a theft
case. They found the man in the
station's office and Smith twice
asked him to put his hands behind
his back so he could be hand-
cuffed. The suspect refused, drew
a gun and pointed the barrel under
his own chin.
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Smith and Parlr evacut-l
the bystanders fr tlie.n
used their negotig ls to de'
velop a rapport with the suspect,
Eventually they were able to con-
vince the man tO surrender to
them, and no one was hurt. The
man was later transported to a
mental-health facility, where he
received treatment.
Sgt. Robert Hudson, also of
Troop 7, was honored with the
Lifesaving Award. Hudson was
off duty and dining at a restaurant
in Georgetown in November
'2002, when he heard customers
and servers yelling that a child
was choking. The toddler was al-
ready exhibiting signs of cyanosis
and becoming lifeless when Hud-
son took the child and used the in-
fant-style Heimlich maneuver to
dislodge toast from the baby's
CAPE GAZETrE, Friday, May 2 - May 8, 2008 - 65
windpipe.
After calming the parents, Hud-
son took time to teach them how
to assist a choking child, and he
encouraged them to take the baby
to a physician to be examined. "If
it had not been for his quick reac-
tion, it is unlikely that the child
would have survived the choking
incident," stated division officials.
Some go beyond duty
The division conferred an Ex-
ceptional Performance Award on
Trooper Lance Skinner ofTroo p
4, who in 2002 made a total of
i,116 arrests ranging from traffic
to criminal charges.
Skinner also responded to a bur-
glary in progress during April and
learned the suspect's former girl-
friend had an active protection-
from-abuse order against him.
Skinner continued ingg
and ultimately found'-
ing under the girlfriend's home;
Skinner charged him with-numer-
ous crimes.
Three months later, Skinner
made a traffic stop prior to the car
entering Maryland. During the
stop, Skinner found two bags
filled with cartons of cigarettes,
and while be did more investigat-
ing, the suspects confessed to
committing numerous other thefts
in Sussex County.
Two months after that, a citizen
offered information to Skinner
about an old robbery and shooting
case in Selbyville.. When he went
to question a suspect, he found the
man in possession of drugs.
Through the course of their con-
versation, the suspect revealed in-
Continued on page 66
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