[Archived] Son of Fallen Sheriff's Deputy among New Alexandria Deputies to Graduate from Criminal Justice Academy

On Wednesday, June 27, a year after the Alexandria jail was officially renamed in honor of his slain father, Deputy Kevin Truesdale graduated from the Northern Virginia Criminal Justice Training Academy.

In May 2011, the William G. Truesdale Adult Detention Center was named in memory of Kevin’s father, an Alexandria deputy shot to death in 1981 by an escaping prisoner. At that dedication ceremony, Deputy Truesdale’s son Kevin – just six months old when his father was killed – was sworn in as a new Alexandria Sheriff’s deputy.

Deputy Kevin Truesdale graduated from the Northern Virginia Criminal Justice Training Academy along with four other Alexandria deputies who completed nearly six months of deputy and law enforcement training. The graduation ceremony for Deputies Truesdale, Taneshia Dublin, Damaris Maravilla, Jill Staub and Clarkton White was held at Dominion High School in Sterling along with other members of NVCJTA’s Session 126.

Sheriff Dana Lawhorne and Zita Truesdale-Noyes, the widow of Deputy William Truesdale and the mother of Deputy Kevin Truesdale, attended the graduation.

Deputy William Truesdale was shot to death on January 27, 1981, outside the old Alexandria jail on Princess Street. Deputy Truesdale was escorting prisoner Wilbert Lee Evans back to jail after a court appearance when Evans grabbed the deputy’s revolver and shot him. Evans ran from the scene but was apprehended a few blocks away. Deputy Truesdale was transported to Alexandria Hospital where he died. The suspect was convicted of murder, sentenced to death and executed in 1990. Deputy Truesdale, who had joined the Alexandria Sheriff’s Office in 1973, was 47 years old at the time of his death. He was survived by his wife, Kevin and three other children, William, Thomas and Laurie.

For more information, contact Amy Bertsch at 703.746.5014 or visit www.alexandriava.gov/sheriff.

Photo: Deputy Sheriff graduates of Session 126 with their diplomas and surrounded by members of the Sheriff’s Office Training Section (l-r: Deputy Vikas Ohri, Deputy Robert Gilmore, Deputy Marvin Pitts, Deputy Jill Staub, Deputy Kevin Truesdale, Deputy Damaris Maravilla, Deputy Taneshia Dublin, Deputy Clarkton White, Deputy Trina Graves, Deputy Gregory Zedalis and Lieutenant Dottie Pope.)