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BEHIND THE BADGE:
SLO County Sheriff’s Office by Ian Parkinson, SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY SHERIFF
LEISA MARRS ONE OF MANY WHO WORK OUT OF THE SPOTLIGHT
F
rom time to time in this column, I like to highlight some of the amazing people who work in the Sheriff ’s Office. It’s not always the Patrol Deputies who get all the attention. With 450 people here at the Sheriff ’s Office, there are some who work out of the spotlight. And I would like to introduce you to one right now. Leisa Marrs is one of the legal clerks here at the Sheriff ’s Office in our Records and Warrants division. A legal clerk is a person who handles specialized clerical work for the courts, criminal justice system, and law enforcement agencies like ours. Those legal clerks in our Records and Warrants division have a wide range of duties, like entering and processing warrants into local, state, and national databases. Last year, that unit processed more than 30,000 of those warrants. Additionally, they are responsible for processing extraditions, fingerprinting, as well as processing records for criminal discovery, subpoenas, records requests, business permits and conceal carry permits. They do a lot. When Leisa first started at the Sheriff ’s Office, she did not have the title of legal clerk. Instead, it was called “Intermediate Typist Clerk.” Not an especially flattering or descriptive title. Things have changed a little bit since that time. The one thing that hasn’t changed is what Leisa wanted to do when she was growing up in Atascadero, and that was to be involved in law enforcement. She always had that desire because when she was growing up, all of her friend’s dads were Deputies.
10 | MARCH 2022
Marrs and other legal clerks in the Records and Warrants division processed more than 30,000 warrants for the Sheriff’s Office last year.
During her time at the Sheriff ’s Office Leisa has split most of her time between our Records and Warrants division and being a legal clerk at our North Station in Templeton. One of Leisa’s favorite memories happened a few years ago when a man contacted her at the office. He told her the story that he had a relationship with a woman years ago and as a result they had a daughter together. But the woman left him and had taken the baby with her. The man never was able to find his daughter. The man gave Leisa his information and she took it from there. Leisa was able to make contact with the daughter. The father and daughter were able to reunite. Both dad and daughter were so grateful to Leisa they came into the office where Leisa worked, brought her roses, and thanked her. It was a happy ending.
So why am I telling you all this? Well , because recently Leisa celebrated her 41st year of working at the Sheriff ’s Office. She began here in 1981 when she was just 18. That’s her photo taken on her very first day. George Whiting was Sheriff at the time, and there have been three Sheriffs, including myself, since that time. Leisa says she “loves” her job and the people she works with, but she does plan to retire in the next couple years. For now, she’ll remain the longest-tenured employee working at the Sheriff ’s Office. Oh, and did I mention Leisa also happens to be one of the nicest people you’ll ever meet. Just one of the many quality people we have working at the Sheriff ’s Office. So, congratulations Leisa! We look forward to seeing you around the Sheriff ’s Office for a few more years!
Marrs, shown here in 1992, always wanted to be involved in law enforcement when she was growing up in Atascadero.
Leisa Marrs is shown on her very first day with the Sheriff’s Office as an 18-year-old in 1981.
Central Coast Journal
